Based in an Italian setting that holds jealousy, beauty, love and violence is a friendship that is just as powerful as the writing of this story. Elena Ferrante truly is the Jane Austen of our time and portrays just how far you might go to retain a close friendship/sisterhood. This story continues from the first book of a four part series, 'My Brilliant Friend', and takes you on a journey with two best friends, Elena Greco (Lenu) and Rafaella Cerullo (Lila) and the events that challenge their friendship. For instance, relationships between the many Italian families and friends in their neighbourhood seem to empower or tear them down. An example of this is the pressure of both of the girls' parents, Lila has been forced to drop out of school, becomes a shoemaker and then marries at sixteen. This book then explores a new chapter in her life with her husband, Stefano, that explores luxury, abuse, adultery and motherhood. Whereas, Lenu is encouraged to continue further...

Yesterday, I went to the gorgeous Cotswold Lavender Fields in Snowshill, which is located near Broadway. Acres of land covered in a vibrant and purple colour, complemented with a rich fragrant smell and the sound of bees buzzing. It's a great place for tourists to grab a sense of the English countryside and perfect to capture through the lens.    There lavender fields is only open in English summer time. This year it is opening for just over two months and the last day is on the 4th August. Keep checking each year because the dates can change! There is a price of £4.00 for adults, £2.00 for 5-15 year olds and under 5's go free. It is open from 10am till 5pm each day and there is a big car park with accessibility for coaches as well. Photographs can be taken, but drones aren't allowed and if you are wanting to do commercial photography you have to speak to the people in charge before hand for terms and conditions. More info about the goings-on are here on their...

A twist on one of the peoples' favourites - PIZZA. I first had the idea when I was making mac and cheese and I thought wow I wonder if this butternut squash cheese sauce would be good on a pizza base instead of using the traditional tomato sauce. This then led to the idea of topping it with roasted vegetables and voilá, a new take on pizza. Now if you're like me and you are not mad on cheese or mustard, despise cottage cheese and are only starting to warm to butternut squash, then I couldn't recommend this sauce enough, Makes sense right?!😂I used to be a fussy eater when I was younger and in the last few years I have warmed to liking more and more types of food. I didn't even used to like curry, and that's saying something! The point I'm making is that try something even though you know that the ingredients in it are ones you don't like, because they may just work and together to create a taste you'll love! Makes 3 pizzas. Ingredients (pizza ba...

Summer is the perfect time of year to make some sweet, flavourful and juicy strawberry jam. Last year was the first time that I made jam and I enjoyed it so much, that I decided to make it an annual tradition. I used the BBC Good Food recipe, which works perfectly, here is the website for the recipe:  https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3161704/strawberry-jam . Last year I managed to get a reasonably good thickness, but it was still slightly too thin, so this year I managed to perfect that. The mistake I made last year was that I only went by the temperature that it said it should be when the jam is done, which is 105℃. It could be fine like that, which mine was this year, but the difference was is that I double checked by testing some jam on a cold saucer to see if it made a wrinkle. This shows a definite result that the jam is thick enough. I think the best way to get some strawberries is by going strawberry picking or going to get some from a farm shop, which is what ...

I've finally concocted a recipe that tastes pretty similar to one of my favourite chocolates, which is Terry's Chocolate Orange. However, the good thing about these bars is that they are healthy. They have a crunchy texture combined with a gooey flavoursome taste. These are raw, so you don't need to cook them, just pop them in the fridge to solidify slightly and then you're good to go. Below is the recipe for this edible goodness, so what are you waiting for look below and get baking! Ingredients: 250g medjool dates or sweet and jammy dried pitted deglet nour dates 150g walnuts 40g oats 20g desiccated coconut 20g coconut flakes 20g cacao powder Zest and juice of a big orange 2tbsp olive oil Equipment: Food processor weighing scales Juicer Table spoon Grater Grease-proof paper Grease-proof tin, width: 18cm, depth: 3cm Instructions: Step 1: First of all get your scales and weigh the dates. Make sure that you get rid of the stone in your ...

Full of unique artistic sculptures, you won't want to miss the Fresh Air Sculpture Show. Set in the beautiful English countryside of Quenington, is a huge garden full of beautiful, vibrant flowers, a river, greenhouses, trees, an outside pool and sculptures scattered around the grounds intertwining themselves within nature.    Many materials are used to create these exquisite masterpieces, such as ceramics, glass, metal, mosaics, clay, wire and more. You can visit the Fresh Air Sculpture website to find out more about the artists and their work:  http://www.freshairsculpture.com/meet-the-artists/ .  I viewed this and found some sculptures I had missed walking around. In a way you could call this show a treasure hunt, as some are so immersed in the grounds it's a nice surprise when walking around. In saying that this is a great place to take children, as it is fun, whilst also showing them a cultural, colourful experience and there are so many nooks and cran...