Haven't blogged for ages mainly due to what most people would consider a terrible couple of days. Basically travelled home from Seoul for Christmas and was delayed for EVER, I think I worked out that I was travelling awake nonstop for around 2 days plus. My flight from Amsterdam to Manchester was cancelled while we were in the air and a stressful couple of hours in a hotel before the 4.30am airport opening lay ahead. Then my rescheduled flight to Leeds was delayed an hour, then flying in circles for another until we were diverted to Liverpool. Anyhow, I was very tir. But had arrived for Christmas day as a lovely surprise for my Grandma :) Until food poisoning hit and knocked me out of action for 3 days.
Hopefully catching up on blog updates soon.
This is my first official challenge from the Fresh from the Oven Blog and it was a very festive stollen recipe.
The recipe is here on Jules' blog which I have been stalking for some time and it is based on a Simon Rimmer recipe/
I cracked on with it the second weekend in December and made only very minor adjustments such as missing out the rum because I don't drink alcohol and mixing some edible glitter with the final dusting of icing sugar for a really festive shimmer.
I doubled the recipe since I was making it with my sister and that is why there are two - marked with our initials in marzipan so we would know which one to take home.
I was pleased that I kneaded this by hand as it meant that I didn't mash up the fruit too much so we still had some gorgeous chunks of cherry, almond etc in the final product.
So finally the money shot...
I did discover that toasted stollen with butter makes the best breakfast ever (although not at all healthy).
I have really enjoyed the first challenge and can't wait for the next one!
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*I wrote a massive blog entry then clicked something by accident and lost it :( *
'9am, at the Express Bus Terminal I will be catching the coach’ I thought to myself as I got ready during the morning hours of Sunday morning. Only to find Kara’s alarm had not gone off and she would meet me at my station to grab a taxi. Luckily, there are two pick-up points - a hastily hailed taxi, and the taxi driver from heaven managed to get us to the Hongik University subway exit ten minutes early! And we were worried!
First let me explain, we didn’t actually enter the DMZ as it is prohibited from entry apart from UN and South Korean personnel and those who want to go down in a hail of bullets. The DMZ is around 2-3 km wide and bordered by a North and South Military Line, more detailed info can be found here.
However, we went very close to the South Korean Military Demarcation Line which in the most Northern point one can reach until you get the DMZ. We passed the Civilian Control line and had to bring my passport and foreigner registration card to do it.
The first stop on our itinerary was Imjingak. This place is described as a tourist resort, which it kind of is and isn’t at the same time. I can definitely say getting off the bus to find a fairground is at first disconcerting considering this place is home to a shrine for North Korean refugees to remember and for South Koreans to hope for peace and unification. Me, Shannon and Kara headed straight for the Peace Bell as everyone seemed to be heading in the opposite direction and we wanted some pictures with it uncrowded.
This is me and Shannon posing with the Peace Bell... usually I don't take many pictures of myself or if I have them taken I'm only in a few. However, I felt this trip was a bit of an once-in-a-lifetime one and deserved to be documented in some serious photography and groovy poses. For an area with a somber past I found the trip surprisingly fun as there seems to be this underlying hope that one unification or peace will happen. They're even preparing for it with Dorasan station, but more on that later. Imjingak is full of symbols. Like the Peace Bell, which rings for the unification of the two Koreas. For 10,000 won - around five UK pounds - you can help in the ringing of the bell. Unfortunately while I was there the bell did not ring. Another symbol, located in the same pavillion as the bell was the Peace Stone Wall. A wall made from stones took from different battlefields across the world, gather in order to remember the destruction of war and hope for a Korea one day far removed from it. It was a pretty powerful symbol for me as it reminded me how lucky I am to live in a relatively safe country, and that most people I know consider war and conflict an abstract concept as it does not affetc our daily lives. Close by these symbols was a very real reminder that North and South are not officially at peace, purely in a continual ceasefire state. Around the corner from the Peace Bell pavilion is the Freedom Bridge and the end of the train line. This bridge was used to exchange prisoners at the end of the war, hence it's name. Plus it used to be the location of trainline into North Korea, now a destroyed train found inside the DMZ is displayed with the quote 'the train wants to run'. The train was shot down while delivering war materials in the 1950s, fortunately the train driver survived and escaped to safety. The train was riddled with around 200 bullets holes and lay within the DMZ for years, even a tree started to grow in the metal ruins. That is, until they salvaged the vehicle and brought it to Imjingak to become a symbol of hope that one day trains will run to North Korea. Here's the tree that used to grow inside the train. Showing that the DMZ untouched by man for over fifty years has now become a place of natural beauty and a reserve for wildlife and nature despite what it represents in terms of politics. I think I'll end part one with a picture I saw in the memorial shrine on Freedom Bridge. A child's picture, showing hope is always present. Even I like to think one day the country I currently call home will unite with it's distant brother despite the long and difficult process it would be.
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Yesterday, after a chilled out day cleaning, tidying, and watching TV, I headed to the dermatologists. Usually I just get my oral medication, and some medicated toner for my skin. This week, I had a different doctor, who luckily also spoke English. He recommended a treatment which we have been discussing for weeks now. I haven't noticed any improvement for a bit and my face is quite pinkish/red lately. So I decided to go for the chemical peel in an attempt to get rid of it all. I was then escorted to a different part of clinic which is usually where you pay and have treatments. The nurse was talking ten to the dozen in Korean. I don't know why they do this. They know I obviously don't speak Korean and have no idea what is going on. However, usually with a lot of concentration and hand gestures I often get it. This week, she didn't decide to do any of this.
And then I paid for my prescripton and toner. They acted like it was all finished. So in a state of bewilderment, I headed to the pharmacy. Got my stuff. Then got thinking the doctor definitely mentioned to have the peel today. So I head back upstairs to the clinic and asked to see the doctor again. Basically I asked if the chemical peel was today and he said yeah, go to the treatment section. At this point, I have no idea wtf is going on.
The nurse again continued her Koreany Korean speech. Yet again, I did not get a word. After a long time trying to translate wtf she was saying, She mentioned phoning a Korean friend so I rung the translation service. My phone decided not to like this number. So I rung my superviser, she decided not to answer. Then, I rung Dianne - an American-Korean teaching English in the same programme as me, who did me a massive favour and translated it all for me over the phone. Apparentl.y my skin will grow some scales after the first treatment and I must touch it or peel any dry skin
Righto .. now onto the actual treatment. I washed my face then was transported into the treatment room. My bag and coat was put into a cupboard and it all began. The doctor came in and applied the chemicals to my face for a few minutes. Didn't hurt at all, just tingly. Then, one of the nurse took over and spent the next 30-40 minutes doing face paska and moisture treatments that I guess are all part of the whole procedure. It was quite relaxing and afterwards although it wasn't perfect I felt and thought my skin looked a lot better.
Only trouble is I think I for all ten courses at once, although I can not be completely sure. If it is that expensive all the time I'm afraid I won't be able to do it more than once.
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