St. David's Day

Welsh Bunting in my cubicle

For St. David's Day this year, I actually went all out.  Normally, I forget it's the first until about halfway through the day.  But I had purchased my Welsh Flag Bunting in the UK last year and I was determined to do it up right.  There is nothing like hanging decorations in one's cubicle to draw attention and I had the pleasure of explaining my celebration to many a passerby.  But this just wasn't enough for me. 

Welsh Cakes

My dad's friends in Bristol posted pictures of their homemade Welsh Cakes so I decided to research traditional St. David's Day/Welsh dishes.   I found two very tasty recipes for Welsh Cakes and one for Chicken and Leek Hotpot.  I invited my friend, Andrea Schwartz (of "Do As I Say" fame),  to help me.  The Welsh Cakes proved a little more challenging than I thought, thankfully Andrea had experience with baking, and the substitution of oil for lard did not hold the cakes together as well as I had hoped.  Overall, I was very pleased with the result and felt they were every bit as good as the ones I'd had last year.  I made sure to pack up half of them for Andrea and the other half for work. 

Chicken and Leek Hotpot

The Chicken and Leek Hotpot recipe was very attractive because it was cooked completely in the microwave.  I feel like I should have cooked the vegetables a little longer before adding the chicken but, again, I was not disappointed.  Next time I will also add more carrots for color.  I have three more meals out of this recipe and will definitely make it again.  I was unsure of whether or not I would like Leeks, as I haven't really had them before.  In my mind, I thought they were similar to onion and while I enjoy the onion flavor I don't particularly care for crunching on the pieces themselves.  But the Leek has a sweeter taste to it, possibly from cooking with the carrots, and I ate every part of the meal.

I sincerely hope that I am able to do this again next year and that this was the start of a tradition for me.  I think we only equate traditions with families or couples and we forget that it's just as important to create them on an individual level.  It helps us to connect with our friends and feel like we're a part of something important.  So here is to the start of a new tradition for me!

Angel/Buffy vs. Edward/Bella

***Note: This is a reposted entry from my livejournal, circa 2009.  It's been a long time since I read that first Twilight novel, but I don't think my opinion has changed.  My opinion about Angel on the other hand is a little different this time around.***

I read an article the other day about the vampire romances in pop culture and the young girls who love them, a la Edward Cullen.  It mentioned the Buffy/Angel relationship in the Buffy Series and called them similar.  I said, "ha," at the time.  So I sat down last night and watched most of season 1.  It's been several years since I've seen any of these episodes and the storyline, in my mind, was sketchy at best. 

First let me say, that I can see the article's point.  Angel is a vampire, with a soul, who is going against his nature to get along with the humans and help them against his own kind.  The article said the vampire in any teen romance was like the ultimate reformed bad boy.  And, I have to admit the author had a very good point.  Angel is actually much more attractive than I remember him being.  He's dark and mysterious, only showing up to warn Buffy of potential danger.  I always thought he was whiny and preferred Spike.  However, after watching the first 8 episodes of Season 1, I can admit that Angel is not that bad.  In fact, I find myself wanting them to get together.

The major differences between Buffy/Angel and Bella/Edward:  First, Joss Whedon and his team of writers are ten times better at conveying emotion and crafting plot than Stephanie Meyers.  Second, Angel's attraction is not based on the fact that she's his favorite smelling snack.  Third, as the slayer, Buffy knows the dangers for real, real.  She walks away from Angel, at the Bronze.  They both acknowledge their attraction, she realizes what he is and she walks away.  Fourth, Angel doesn't sparkle, he can't go out in the sunlight, and he doesn't feel the need to repeat high school over and over again.  Fifth, Buffy actually has super human strength and can hold her own with the vamps.  So she's not this constant damsel in distress.  Their relationship, when it happens, is the meeting of two equals, so to speak.  Sixth, one of Buffy's biggest  "no" points for a relationship with Angel is that he's "like 224 years older." 

Seventh, the actor playing Angel, David Boreanaz, is built.  The actor playing Edward, Robert Patterson, has the skinny emo look.  Angel actually wreaked havoc through Europe for at least a century before having his soul restored and being reduced to dark and emotional.  Edward is just lame from the beginning.  Angel is paying penance for evil deeds he committed before the soul restoration.  He's been the big bad and he's come back from it.  He actually admits to Buffy that, when Darla framed him for attacking Buffy's mom and Buffy sought his destruction for the attack, he wanted to kill her, but he doesn't.  Edward is just self loathing from the get go. 

So perhaps it is the introduction of this newer, whinier, lesser vampire, Edward Cullen, or perhaps it is seeing the episodes through older, different perspective eyes, but Angel is not half as bad as I used to think he was.

Other thoughts:  The Hyena episode, where Xander is possessed, is kind of awesome.  First, Nicholas Brendan is kind of hot.  Second, the other hyenas eat the principal.  Kind of brilliant

Doctor Who Locations

I have discovered a most excellent web site dedicated to the filming locations for Doctor Who.  I hadn't really allowed myself the opportunity to research Cardiff, or any of Wales for that matter, out of a disbelief that I was really going and a certain amount of respect for my sister.  (She is not happy that I will be going there without her and while I understand that I can't pass up this opportunity.)  But finding this website has really allowed me to create a small list of places I want to see and pictures I just have to take.

So far this includes:

"Turn Left"

Conway Pub, 58 Conway Road, Pontcanna, Cardiff, CF11 9NW, Wales

"Silence in the Library"

Central Library, Alexandra Rd., Swansea SA1 5DX

"Blink"

Alexandra Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff (Welsh National War Memorial)

Fields House, 18 Fields Park Avenue, Allt-Yr-Yn, Newport, NP20 5BE

"Blink"/"Boomtown"

Glamorgan Building (Cardiff University), King Edward VII Ave., Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3WT

"Father's Day"

The Parish Of St. Paul's, Paget St., Grangetown, Cardiff

Swindon UK

I recently starting reading the new Thursday Next book, written by Jasper Fforde, and I've decided I would like to try and visit the real-life Swindon when we fly to Bristol.  It's about 40 miles East of Bristol, so I'm not sure how plausible this is.  I could, of course, always go by myself and find my way back to Cardiff to meet up with the Dads before our flight back to Dublin.  (This might solve more than one problem, as my sister is quite upset that we're going to Wales together.)

It looks like it's only about 35 minutes from Bristol so it is entirely possible.  The only question is whether or not I would want to go by myself.