November. YOU HAVE BEEN BUSY!
One of the things I love about writing these posts, is when I go to remind myself over what I’ve done this month, I scroll through my camera roll to which is when I actually realise how busy I have been!
November really was the lead up to Christmas as I had so many things on not just in Northamptonshire, but it’s well worth noting that I went to London a few times for work, I went to see Jack Whitehall in Birmingham where my friend and I had a lovely day spent at Birmingham’s Christmas Markets.
Plus, I went to see MCFLY!!!
One of the highlights of the year!
So I’ve been navigating here, there and everywhere as well as trying to get ready for Christmas which it is FINALLY as it’s now December. I’ve felt a little lack as of late with blog content, which I always get frustrated by when I’m not on top of my ‘A Game’ but I hope I can get a few blog posts out before Christmas!
But for now, let’s talk about what happened in November and where I navigated to:
Wharf Distillery
November was apparently a Wharf Distillery month!
I went to visit The Drink Shed based at Potterspury, Northamptonshire a few times when it came to getting some Christmas gifts and obviously we had to purchase our own bottle of Northamptonshire Gin for the gin cabinet.
But if that wasn’t enough, we also attended their gin tasting at Gin & Temple, who are currently doing their own Gin Clubs and on this occasion, Laurence at Wharf Distillery came down to deliver a very educational talk on how small batch gin is made.
We drank LOTS of gin, we learned lots about our favourite tipple and I would thoroughly recommend booking onto a G&T’s Gin Club! The next one is this month with Hustle Gin!
Golden Ticket Competition with Northampton BID
You may have seen all my posts, but I have been currently working with Northampton BID to help deliver their Golden Ticket competition which is an annual competition that happens amongst Northampton Town to persuade people to shop more locally.
I made my FIRST EVER IGTV video which you can watch here and it was a great opportunity to talk to some of the business owners involved with the campaign, including the Chairman of Northamptonshire County Council himself!
It’s been a really good, fun and local campaign to get involved with. Look out this week for a new blog post on the matter and how we should all be supporting local and independent at Christmas.
High 5 Pizza night at Towcester Mill Brewery
You know those nights where you just DON’T want to cook? Our luck turned around when we saw that Towcester Mill Brewery was hosting High 5 Pizza at their establishment = win win!
High 5 Pizza is a local wood oven pizza company, who has exhibited at lots of local food fairs and recently, they have been popular amongst the people of Towcester to give them a midweek pick me up!
I got the Veggie High 5 pizza which consisted of a tomato base, mozzarella, roasted red pepper, aubergine and courgette with caramelized onions and fresh parsley which was delicious and so, so cheesy!
Josh had a meaty one and together, we had a drink at Towcester Mill Brewery (a Warner’s gin for me!) whilst we waited for our pizza to cook and it ended up being a really lovely, midweek date night.
We enjoyed our pizzas in the comfort of our home, so you’re free to either eat them at the Mill, or you can take them away – and the people behind High 5 Pizza Bar are just lovely!
The next High 5 Pizza Night is on December 27th, so if you’ve got room after your Christmas dinners, get yourself down there!
Towcester Farmers Market
I’m 25 years old, but I love a Farmers Market – so I’m very pleased we have an up and coming one which is getting better and better at each visit.
What I love about the Towcester Farmers Market is that it’s so welcoming and all the traders come far and wide in Northamptonshire and beyond and on this occasion, I met a new stall based in Flore, Northamptonshire called Re who are an eco-friendly shop who stock sustainable gifts and refills of coffee, grains and much more.
It’s always nice to chat to Nick, the man behind running the Towcester Farmers Market, who is always so joyful and proud about the growth of the market.
I also got to meet Sarah and her boyfriend who are behind E W Catering where i enjoyed a yummy sausage sandwich!
There is one coming on Friday 13th December which will be their Christmas market! It’s going to be THE perfect opportunity to stock up on some local veg, meat and foodie delights for your Christmas table!
Northampton Winter Food Festival
One of the biggest food festivals in the county made a return – the Northampton Winter Food Festival!
It’s safe to say, I purchased A LOT including lots of gin for our gin cabinet at home. It’s always a great occasion to meet and catch up with the local food producers, see what treats and delights are in store as well as eat lots of yummy street food.
As always, it was a slightly wet and miserable day but it never stopped us from having fun. I can’t wait until next year’s event!
You can read more about our day in my blog post here.
The Good Loaf
I went to visit Suzy at The Good Loaf and whilst I was there, I enjoyed a nice coffee and took home a big home-baked loaf of wholemeal bread which is honestly the best homemade bread we’ve ever had.
I went down to shoot some content with Suzy at The Good Loaf which I hope is coming very soon! I also enjoyed a nice coffee too. What I love about their Overstone Road branch is that it’s so remote and quiet that you feel as though you are away from the hustle and bustle.
I also love that they have a display of local producers’ products such as Mellow Yellow, Friars Farm and much more!
If you’re looking to support a local coffee shop this Christmas, head to The Good Loaf!
The Carlsberg Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards
One of the big events to have happened this month was having the pleasure of being invited to the Carlsberg Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards at Royal & Derngate
It was an event I have LONGED to attend and so, I was like a big kid at Christmas when I got the invite and didn’t disappoint as I was surrounded by a whole room of local food heroes, producers and business owners who I have looked up to, admired and supported.
We had such a fun evening and you can read more about what happened in my blog post here.
Bell Plantation Christmas Displays
If you’re still looking for somewhere to grab some festive decorations, gifts or even just go for an afternoon tea or cup of coffee; Bell Plantation gets super Christmassy this time of year!
We visited recently to see what Christmas Displays they had on in preparation for getting our Christmas decorations and stuff for our house (first Christmas, yay!) and I couldn’t take my eyes off all the beautiful decorations and displays in front of us.
What I love about Bell Plantation is that it’s Christmas displays are always colour co-ordinated, so if you’re going for a certain theme or colour scheme, you can always rely on Bell Plantation having a dedicated table for it.
I’ll definitely be going back to get some more local gifts for presents this year!
New Car from Albert Abbotts Cars
I finally said goodbye to my very old car and got myself a slightly newer one, which is more reliable and I’m super duper happy with it!
If anyone watched my Instagram stories, you will know I have complained about my car time and time again, as it’s had so many problems and I’ve even done Instagram stories of when my car has actually broken down!
I found a really decent priced car which had everything I needed from a local company called Albert Abbots Cars, which is a family-run business and the current owners are brothers, who’s Grandad was Albert Abbot – so it felt really nice that I was getting my car from a local business.
So far, it’s been a dream to drive! I feel like I have a car that doesn’t make strange noises when I drive it and I feel like I can drive anywhere!
Thank you to the team at Albert Abbots. You can find them here.
Winterland
Winterland MK has arrived in Towcester, though it has recently renamed itself to just Winterland to avoid the confusion that an MK event has come to Northamptonshire!
It’s currently running at Towcester Racecourse, which is the PERFECT location for this festive event as it’s so big! It consists of funfair rides, lots of food & drink stalls, mulled cider & wine bars, local independent gift stalls, entertainment and much more!
I have been really disliking all the negative comments regarding Winterland coming to Towcester – but I have nothing but good things to say about it, as it’s bringing something new, exciting and festive to the town of whom some people have complained that ‘there’s nothing to do’ so for once, we have something to really look forward to at Christmas time!
We attended the opening event where East 17 performed (who were actually really good!) and we are already making plans to return again to enjoy the ice skating and some of the fairground rides!
Speaking at Northampton College
And finally, another big event that happened this month – I did some public speaking!
I attended Northampton College from 2010 to 2012 where I studied the Level 3 Musical Theatre course and I was asked whether I would like to return to speak about ‘my experience’ of the college and what I have achieved since leaving.
It was a very nostalgic moment walking back into the college after 8 years being away and so many memories flooded back as I took sight of the canteen (their cheesy chips with gravy were the best!)
But as I felt my time on stage drawing nearer and nearer, I felt extremely nervous! But as always, I built myself up for no reason and ended up having a great time and felt relaxed once I got going.
I even got to see some familiar faces, from current Musical Theatre students who I knew when they were young (which made me feel very old!) to seeing my old Musical Theatre lecturer!
Thank you to Jessica at Pilkington Comms for arranging for me to come and speak – it truly was a full circle event to come back.
SO. BIG MONTH!
I hope you enjoyed my chatty lifestyle post on what I’ve been up to! It’s nice to have somewhere to put everything I’ve done over the month.
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