Market Day

The old garage belonging to Barton's has been used for all sorts of things since it stopped being used for buses.

Today it was turned into an indoor market, which was amusingly entitled 'Not the Camden Market'. There were quite a number of stalls that were selling things ranging from artwork and vintage clothes, to books, plants and jewellery.

The best one was the one that had home made bread and cakes on it. We bought a loaf of yeast free bread, one of the mountain cakes you can see in the photo, a fruit tart and a massive flat cake with chocolate in it, which I polished off, while Gail ate a freshly cooked bacon sandwich.

I couldn't go to Barton's and not take a photo of one of their wonderful old buses. This one which was built in 1947 is soon going up for sale. I don't know how much they will be asking for it, but I'd certainly buy it if I happen to find a few thousand pounds lost down the back of the sofa!

Crumbs

The second Great Beeston Bake Off took place today at a local school to raise funds for Oxfam.

Nearly thirty people took part in the baking competition and produced all sorts of wonderful cakes and buns. I had a particularly delicious slice of banana loaf, and of course I just had to get Gail one too, as I know how much she likes it.

There were four winners altogether and they all received a framed certificate. There were plenty of visitors who donated money whilst munching the goodies on offer. In total £400 was raised for projects, both home and abroad.

Let Them Eat Cake

Cookery competitions are all the rage on TV these days, but there was a real one in Beeston today.

The first ever Great Beeston Bake-Off took place at a local school. Many people took part, baking their special cakes and pastries.

The event was aimed at raising some money for Oxfam, and was opened by the deputy mayor of Broxtowe, who incidentally I've done a few acting projects with over the last couple of years.

The competition was open to both professionals and amateurs. Even kids got in on the act. Bradley's creation is spectacular, and I just love the way he's spelt ingredients. No spellchecker when you're writing; only a dictionary.

The winning cake was the one with blueberries on it, which was made by a local cafe. You could buy the cakes after the judges had had a taste, so I bought two of the cupcakes, which had a drop of beer in them. And very tasty they were too.

Filling My Face

Kathy has dreamt up this week's Headbanger Challenge, and she's gone for everyone's favourite subject: food.

Now my first thought is to take a photo of some delicious food, and today's daily photo certainly shows that. But further details later. When thinking about food more deeply, the expression 'if music be the food of love, play on' sprang to mind. The famous quote from Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, said by Orsino to try and overcome his infatuation with Countess Olivia. More music, less love.

So my header photo shows Rob Nicholls from local band Blue Yonder, who we went to see at the Contemporary back in March. We hope to see them again next month, when they play at a local pub. There's nothing better than listening to some good music whilst sipping an ice cold beer. Especially on a hot day like today.

Don't forget to look at the rest of the headbanger's pages and enjoy this piece of suitable dining music.

Now as I mentioned earlier, I attended one of the many 'ladies lunches' that I go on at work. Well why not? This one was very special, as one of my ladies received an invitation to sample the wares at a new cafe/restaurant that is going to be opened very soon. Possibly tomorrow. She asked if she could bring any friends. Yes, said the manager, as it will help us to see what things are like, and how we can cope during the lunchtime rush.

So eight of us descended on this new eatery. I don't think they knew what had hit them! There was only a small menu choice, so we all decided to go for the vintage high tea. Out came bone china cups, real tea leaves in real teapots. The pour your own variety, rather than the usual teabag. I went for a green tea, which was very pleasant. I could have drunk a pint of the stuff, it was that good.

The waitresses then came out with several cake stands. Three tiers. Bottom tier had smoked salmon, egg and mayo and ham sandwich fingers on it. Middle tier had scones and pots of jam and double cream for that authentic Devonshire taste, and the top tier held some inviting sticky cakes.

I took quite a few photos, as it was wonderfully decorated. There were two big skylights in the ceiling that let the sunlight flood through. I also Facebooked and Tweeted with a photo about it, and moments later 1900 fellow Tweeters had the details in the palm of their hand, as it had been re tweeted by one of my contacts. The power of social media.

The meal was free, but in return we had to fill in a feedback form. Which we gladly did. I made a couple of comments, which I hope they find useful and put into practice, as it might make that customer experience even better.

Let Us Eat Cake!

Here is one of the best stalls of the farmers market. One that sold fairy cakes. They look too good to eat. I've tweaked the colour saturation a little; just to make them even more tempting!