Wellies, food, guitars, and other things

Although no one reads this lame duck of a blog, partly due to my absence from the blogosphere (a word which I hate using), and partly due to the fact that I've told very few people about it, I feel as though I ought to write something. Not because I'm an interesting, witty, or charming individual, but rather because I quite like to jot down all the stuff that has happened to me in recent times.

First and foremost, I have returned to a job I promised never to return to, and am back slicing open packages and running up and down flights of stairs at All Saints Retail Ltd, a company whose business philosophy seems to be "treat most people like dirt, except for a few people who we'll inexplicably treat like deities, despite no obvious worthwhile input on their part". For the past two weeks, I've rolled in at 7 and punched out at 6 more often than not, without so much as a "thank you" from the powers that be, and with many of the high ups not even realising that I'd gone. However, I have genuinely missed a handful of people, notably a few from Womenswear Design, one or two in Menswear Design, some of the E-Commerce lot, the Press department, literally one person in Production, and another in Merchandising. And I've missed the pay, with which I'll be able to treat the Lady as she deserves to be treated.

However, whilst I might not particularly enjoy some aspects of my job, others are quite wonderful. For example, wearer trials. I am currently in possession of the greatest pair of wellington boots ever to grace this Earth. Like the illegitimate spawn of army boots and wellies, they are quite frankly awesome. With these boots, festival season shall be mindblowingly amazing.

Speaking of festival season, the Hop Farm Festival is right around the proverbial corner, and I'm getting hyper excited. At the forefront of the joygasm is the prospect of seeing Bob Dylan, a man who I've long admired, and whose lyrical genius is an inspiration to me daily. But another large part of why I'm so excited is that last year I met Fight Like Apes. And drank a cider with them. Yeah. You may not know who they are, but they may just be my most beloved band of the decade, whose nonsensical noise has fuelled many a train journey, workout, and late night for me, and who may be the nicest, politest people I've ever met.

Segueing nicely, albeit due to a fairly tenuous music-themed connection, I've started playing the guitar again. I'd almost completely given up until about two weeks ago, but now I've started tearing up the fretboards as if I'd not missed a day, and have written a couple of new pieces, one of which I'm genuinely proud of. I've been listening to a lot of the Smiths recently, and I have to admit that my playing has been greatly influenced by Johnny Marr's distinct and jangly sound, which I'm trying (in vain) to replicate on my Flying V. I'm going to be teaching a friend of my mum's (who may or may not be her new fella, I'm not quite sure) to play, for a small fee of course, and I'm really getting excited about music again for the first time in ages.

I've also resolved to start cooking more, and to try and cook new things. I really enjoy cooking (at least when I'm cooking for the Lady), and it bugs me that I rarely make the effort to try to make something new and challenging. However, I do cook a mean Thai curry, so here's the recipe for it:

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, sliced

½ small butternut squash, about 225g, peeled, deseeded and cut into 4cm cubes

200g pack baby corn and mangetout

1-2 tbsp Bart Red Thai Curry Paste

400ml can coconut milk

½ medium cauliflower, about 225g, cut into florets

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

2 tsp cornflour

Juice of ½ lime

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large, non-stick pan or wok and add the onion, squash and baby corn. Fry over a high heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the red Thai curry paste and coconut milk, cover and simmer over a low heat for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the cauliflower to the pan and return to the boil. Cover and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes, until all the vegetables are just tender.
3. Slice the mangetout in half lengthways and add to the pan with the red pepper. Mix the cornflour with 1-2 tablespoons cold water and the lime juice, stir into the pan and return to the boil for 2-3 minutes. Serve in bowls, with Thai fragrant rice or rice noodles.