a baker's dozen.

Last Thursday I ventured up to Harrogate where I attended a cookery course at the Betty's Cookery School! Mama Wynn had previously been to a Christmas course and had waxed lyrically about how great it was and so I decided to join her on 'Bread making for Beginners'. 

For any of you who aren't familiar with Betty's, they are a family owned company located in North & West Yorkshire, originally set up by Frederick Belmont, a Swiss confectioner, in 1919. Betty's cafés, which are located in York, Harrogate, Ilkley and North Allerton, have always been a favourite place of mine to visit for tea and lunch and I always make sure that I take anybody who is visiting me to experience the delightfully quaint atmosphere and delicacies.

As well as being a café and a bakery, Betty's also have a cookery school, where you too can learn the secrets behind the infamous Swiss sticks, Yorkshire cobbles and a mouth-watering plethora of cakes.

As soon as we arrived at the cookery school, we were given freshly baked croissants and Betty's tea to kick start our carbolicious day. 

We were given a demonstration by the Betty's Bakers, Mark & Michael, complete with scientific explanations of why we leave the yeast to ferment and the reasons behind 'proving' the dough. 

My Yorkshire Cobble dough ready to be kneaded into shape!

Over the course of the day we made a Yorkshire Cobble which is a white flour loaf, decorated so that it looks like the cobbled streets of York (see below), a Swiss Stick, a Swiss Fitness loaf (with a variety of seeds) and some mixed white/wholemeal rolls. 

We came home with a few more than a baker's dozen!

We had a beautiful lunch made for us and it was a truly lovely day. I would thoroughly recommend the course as a gift for somebody or just as something different to do if you get a free day in the week.

You can peruse the programme of courses and book here: http://www.bettyscookeryschool.co.uk

I think sometimes, due to the hustle and bustle of daily life, we forget about simple pleasures like making a loaf of bread. It also tastes a darn sight better than a shop-bought sliced loaf!

I'm a Cobble convert that's for sure!

I hope you've all had a productive start to this glorious week,
Catch you soon,

Ess Double You x

Glastonbury Festival: A Land of Dreams

Last week I went to what I can only describe as the land of dreams: Glastonbury Festival. It was my first time at Glasto and what a weekend it was! People have told me it is the best festival in Europe, even the best in the World (!) and I definitely would not dispute those tall claims. It has a superb atmosphere with festival goers ranging from young families to students to ageing rockers. This year the ageing rockers of course included The Rolling Stones, who I have to say were phenomenal. Other highlights include The Arctic Monkeys, Haim, Jessie Ware, Tom Odell and Mumford & Sons....not to say everybody else I saw wasn't amazing too.

Here are a few snaps I took whilst rambling around the site....

Scene from The Park

Viewing Platform in The Park

Rum Shack!

Day 1 Outfit: My trusty festival tie-dye dress from All Saints, Trainers: Topshop, Socks: Topshop, Sunglasses: Ray Ban Wayfarer, Headband: Borrowed Necklace: Borrowed.

Day 2 Outfit: Tie-dye dress: Topshop, Headscarf: Vintage, Tote bag: Vintage (Paris), Sunglasses: as before, Socks: Topshop.

Unfortunately they are all the photos I have from Glastonbury but I'm waiting on my disposable to be developed and so I will be sure to share any good'uns with you once I get that back! 

Before I go I must just share one last photo with you which we thought to be a million dollar photo when it was being taken, only to be severely disappointed. As I said before, Glastonbury festival is a land of dreams. However, we thought one of the biggest dreams had come true on the Friday night when we believed to have met Daft Punk. Yes, I repeat, Daft Punk. Now if you look at this photo, one would assume this is Daft Punk. We entered the club to be greeted by 2 men on stage in masks dancing to a recent release from Daft Punk's new album. We even asked the bar staff who confirmed it was indeed Daft Punk! Alas, we were cruelly lied to and apparently the guy in the photo below posing as Daft Punk is in fact called...Ian. 

If you want another little giggle look at the guy in the top right. WTF?

And on that note Ladies & Gents, I bid you goodnight!

More to come soon,

Ess Double You x

Diaries of a Finalist: Episode 2: #Wynne

Good afternoon!

So I'm still going with my MTV Student of the Year competition and the voting closes tonight!! It has been so much fun talking to people, flyering on campus and would like to thank all my friends and family for all their support so far! Whatever happens, I can at least say I've had an absolute ball in running this campaign.

On Monday I will find out if I have made the Top 5 or not! Exciting/nerve wracking stuff.
As a final push for votes, I managed to convince my two besties to make another video with me! Inspired by the parody of Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines video made by Radio 1 DJs Nick Grimshaw and Greg James, I decided to make one myself! Here it is:

I hope you enjoyed it and it will convince YOU to VOTE SAM WYNN as MTV's Student of the Year!!

You can vote here:

studentoftheyear.mtv.co.uk/student/samantha-wynn

Voting closes TOMORROW at MIDNIGHT!

Lots of love,

Ess Double You.

Diaries of a Finalist: Where's Wynn?

Hello!

I'm well under way with my campaign for votes to get into the final 5 of MTV's Student of the Year competition!
It has been so hectic what with flyering at the union, contacting friends and family, organising press features that I haven't been able to fill you all in.

Front Page of my local newspaper: Barnsley Chronicle
Read the full article here

Last weekend I went back to my roots and returned to Den Haag, more precisely Wassenaar in the Netherlands, where I was born. It was a superb weekend and I can't tell you how much I fall in love with Amsterdam when I visit (having only visited twice this is a newfound love affair) and could definitely live there some day. 

As I was in Amsterdam, coincidentally home to the MTV Europe Music Awards 2013, I thought it apt to make a promotional video for my MTV Student finalist success! So here is a little video I made over the weekend with a few shots from Delft and Amsterdam. 

REMEMBER YOU ONLY HAVE UNTIL NEXT SATURDAY 8TH JUNE TO VOTE!!

Please share with all of your friends and family!

studentoftheyear.mtv.co.uk/student/samantha-wynn

I'll just leave you with a few more photos from the weekend...

My old street: Dahliahof

Delft

iamsterdam

That's all for now folks, have a lovely week!


Ess Double You x

Newsflash: Ess Double You shortlisted as final 20 of MTV's Student of The Year!

Hello Readers!

Well what a crazy few days it has been!

I found out that I have been shortlisted in the final 20 of MTV's Student of the Year competition!!! I found out this fabulous news whilst walking up Egham Hill to Royal Holloway University (where I study) and fell to my knees in disbelief whilst myself and my friend screamed and danced around on the pavement. Apologies to any drivers who were distracted by this explosion of excitement!

This means, ladies & gents, that I am in with a chance of being MTV's Student of the Year and being given the KA-amazing opportunity to work for 3 months at MTV's HQ in Camden!! I will also be given the chance to win tickets for MTV's Europe Music Awards, and to the Isle of Man music festival, along with a holiday voucher worth £500!

I cannot express in words how much this means to me and this is where YOU lovely people come into play. I need you to vote for me via this link: studentoftheyear.mtv.co.uk/student/samantha-wynn, watch my video application and VOTE!

You can also share this on Facebook and Twitter and encourage your friends to do so too. And there's even something in it for you lot too! If you vote then you are instantly entered into a prize draw to win either a pair of camping or VIP tickets to the Isle of Man festival where you could be boogieing along with me to the likes of Paloma Faith, Primal Scream and Wretch 32!

Here is my video application for you to see why I am a worthy candidate for MTV Student of the Year:

So VOTE FOR A WYNNER! and vote Sam Wynn. 

That's all for now readers, stay tuned.

Big Love xxx

Eurovision Cuisine

Happy Monday to you all!

Today is my day of rest after a fun weekend, drinking lots and eating lots more which is the best way to spend a weekend, right?!

I hope you all watched the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night! It is always one of my favourite nights of the year and since a very young age I have always made whoever I am spending the evening with watch it with me. I happened to be spending it with one of my besties who doesn't usually watch it (SHOCK HORROR) but decided to embrace the eurotrash and even got into the spirit by suggesting we make Swedish influenced food- Sweden, of course, being the home of Eurovision this year!

I, for one, was definitely up for making meatballs and smorgasboard! In the end we decided to take a twist on meatballs using turkey mince, serving it up with yummy sweet potato mash and braised red cabbage with pear.

Just mix it all together and roll into small meatballs with a little flour! mmm!

The red cabbage was braised with chopped pear, nutmeg, ground spice, lemon rind, vinegar, brown sugar and vegetable stock for approx. 45 mins!

Clockwise: (1) Meatballs ready to fry, (2) Meatballs warming in oven, (3) Côtes du Rhone- my fav red wine! (4) The masterpiece!

All this washed down with a nice glass of red wine and the dulcet tones of the Romanian entry (watch here) and I was happy as Larry.

How did you spend your Eurovision 2013?

Oh, and congratulations to Denmark, commiserations to Bonnie...I believed.

Lots of luv,

Ess Double You x

Oh, Jeff...I Love You, Too...But... Lichtenstein: A Retrospective

Good evening readers!

I trust you had a lovely weekend despite the downturn in the weather with thunderstorms and hail, or as one of my besties endearingly said the other day 'it's just God moving furniture around'.

I spent Sunday afternoon at the Roy Lichtenstein exhibition at the Tate Modern. It is an exhibition I've been wanting to visit for a long time and it was well worth the wait!

It has to be said that it is probably one of the most popular and most spoken about exhibitions that the Tate has put on, but if anything I think it is great to see art become more accessible to a wider range of people. I'm not sure what it is about Pop Art that so many people love; whether it's the comic book style sketches or perhaps the vintage-retro feel that seems to still be on trend in 2013! Whatever the attraction is, it wasn't until I got up close and personal with Lichtenstein's paintings that I recognised the detail and pain-staking precision that has gone into these iconic creations.
What was even better about the exhibition was the new discoveries of this artist usually known for 'The Torpedo', 'Wham!' and 'Drowning Girl'. I even preferred some of his other work, particularly the sculptures that hinted at the art-deco, Great Gatsby mania that is also POPular at the moment.

For obvious reasons, I wasn't able to take any photos but here is a reminder of some his iconic works...

Oh, Jeff...I love you, too...But... : Lichtenstein: photo taken from articles.chicagotribune.com

Whaam! Lichtenstein: photo taken from tate.org.uk

Drowning Girl: Lichtenstein: photo taken from wikipedia.org

The exhibiton is open for viewing until 27th May 2013!

And so, I felt truly inspired by the Lichtenstein style that I decided to Lichtensteinify my face!

That's all from me folks!

Have a lovely Tuesday evening,

Lotsa luv,

Ess Double You x