Closure, Culture, and Comté...

Hello Pier Head, looking good!

I must provide closure. Last time I did a weekly update - a fortnight ago - I was all poised to bag some lovely Eurovision tickets when they were released the following day. Did I manage it? Did I buggery. Like the legion of Eurofans I follow on Twitter, I was unsuccessful. But what a morning it was. The online community of fellow ESC obsessives was out in force. Sharing stories of the queue, posting pictures of Ticketmaster's notification pages as they happened, commiserating when screens froze or people were unlucky after all the waiting. It was exactly as joyous as it could have been in the circumstances. I've no idea who got tickets for the final, but the queue for the Friday Preview Show was gone in forty five minutes. That's when I got to the front. Despite many, many people messaging me that day and commiserating, I am upbeat. The Saturday final is a TV show, so I'm happy to watch from my sofa. But for the week leading up to that, the Pier Head sounds like the place to be. I'm giddy just thinking about it. 

Here's Leeza Book One
for anyone that wants 
to catch up.

Writing News
I've been doing simple but necessary edits this week. The new Leeza McAuliffe story is told in diary form. So information such as family birthdays and her school holiday dates need to be consistent. (She'd have written them in at the beginning of the year, right?) Also, she records the start of her period every month so that needs to be consistent too. I've also gone through and checked spellings on names. Her brother Blane got called Blaine for a few chapters (I forgot!) so that's been ironed out, and I introduced a friend called Kayla that I changed to Cayla mid-draft. That needed to be checked. It's time consuming and laborious but essential nonetheless. 

I LOVE Michael Urie.

Culture 
I hesitate to recommend anything on Apple TV because so few people have it, but now Ted Lasso is back, perhaps viewers will use their free trials and whatnot. If so, look up Shrinking. It's written by the same people behind Ted Lasso and is another funny and poignant look at modern men navigating modern life. Jason Segal plays the lead, with excellent support from Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, and my absolute fave, Michael Urie. I also watched Aftersun, just in time to see it win nothing at the Oscars. Booo. It was so good. A sweetly sad story of childhood memories tangled up with adulthood realities. Because of the Oscars, I also watched Everything Everywhere All at Once, which I enjoyed. (Was it worth Best Picture? Not sure.) And then to top off my cultural week, I literally ran (not really) to the Odeon for the opening night of Scream VI. I LOVE the Scream movies. They never let me down. This one was no exception. I walked out happy and satisfied.

Food photography is
not my calling.

Food and Drink
You know when you've eaten something and you can't stop thinking about it for days afterwards? Just me? Fair enough. But for my starter last Saturday, I had Twice Baked Cheddar and Comté Souflé. It was spot on. If you look at the photo, you'll see I'd had a good go of it before remembering to record it for posterity. No matter. The cheesiness was light and fluffy, and the accompanying apple, rocket, and walnut salad (with a mustardy dressing I think) set the rich flavour off perfectly. I have - natch - attempted my own version at home. It was nothing, and I mean NOTHING like the original. I basically made quiche. No matter. I have my memories.

Out and About
The fit soufflé was in Maidenhead, where I spent an evening for my brothers birthday. Their Premier Inn is another one to add to my Premier Inns I have Stayed list. I also had a night at The Wine Club in Rainhill which is always brilliant. Other than that, it's been a mad week of shopping. I've got a household full of birthdays this week, so there's been a few Prosecco runs. I also helped one of my brothers host Mother's Day by providing some fish. It's been all go.

In a few days, I'll be celebrating my birthday. Exciting! Let's hope all our weeks involve as much anticipation, attention and giddiness as I'm assuming mine will. (Lolz. I can but dream!) Until next time!

Have a lovely week, folks.