He’s a real ‘gooden’ as my Nan would have put it. We flew from Manchester on using Jet2 airlines, quite a budget airline, but this wasn’t to set the tone of the trip. At the airport Geoff treated me to Champagne in Epernay, the aptly named Champagne bar at the Manchester terminal. Then once we arrived we were whisked from the airport to the hotel, with cocktails on the sun terrace upon arrival.

Now this set the tone for the weekend – while we waited for our luggage to be taken to our room we basked in the beaming French Sun. From the hotel terrace we could see out across the Riviera, and gaze at the yachts on the water. Our room was exquisite, the largest double bed you’ve ever seen with plush linen and an ocean view. The second we arrived I didn’t want to leave.

Every meal we had while we were there was top quality – France really does have some amazing restaurants; I must have eaten so much cheese and bread. In terms of cultural attractions, if ever you visit Nice you absolutely must see the Cathedrale Orthodoxe Russe St. Nicolas. The architecture is simply breath-taking, it’s one of those sites that really makes you marvel at the power and talents of the human race. I could talk for every about Nice and how nice it is – but I really do recommend that anyone go, particularly if you have someone as generous and amazing as Geoff to take you!

So on Saturday morning I got up early and made a salad using fresh organic vegetables , and made bean burgers, seasoned with coriander, garlic and chilli. It wasn’t until we were in the car – the point of no return – that Geoff said ‘oh by the way it’s at my parents house and I’d like to introduce you as me girlfriend’.

Gasp! Oh my gosh, this was totally unexpected. I suddenly started panicking about the state of my salad, what if they hated coriander? I saw visions of me making everyone ill, or getting too drunk, or laughing too loudly – basically just embarrassing myself. After the initial heart palpitations I calmed down a bit and then thought over what Geoff had said – girlfriend. Me? His Girlfriend? He wanted me to be his girlfriend? I wasn’t sure how I felt about this; I’d been pretty content as a singleton for a long time. Of course I longed for a male companion, but at the same time prided myself on being independent and had kind of become comfortable with that situation.

But I soon realised I was being silly, and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t have been delighted and flattered, I think it was simply the idea of change that brought strange feelings. We went to the BBQ and it was fine – no knocking over the family urn or accidental swearing. I got a long with his mum really well, she’s such a sweet lady. We shared an affinity for cats – she has a gorgeous blue Persian named dr lovemore, he’s the fluffiest thing you’ve ever seen!

I ended the day feeling proud that Geoff wanted me there, to spend such a lovely day with his friendly family.

It’s actually really relaxing – when I told Geoff I was taking up Yoga he laughed and said he’d get the number of the local chiropractor, but I haven’t damaged anything yet. The first class was a bit scary as everyone seemed to know exactly what they were doing, and could bend into some extraordinary positions – but the instructor realised I was new and was giving me pointers all along the way.

At the end of the class there’s a cool down section, which is basically just meditating and lets you leave the class refreshed, relaxed and revitalised; any strains experienced during the class are soon forgotten about. It’s the first form of exercise I’ve found where you can almost instantly see results. I don’t think I’ve lost any weight or anything but even in my second class I found I was finding the poses easier than I had the previous week. It’s also the first exercise that I genuinely get excited about.

I’m actually starting to feel like a real gym bunny – I went shopping the other day to get my own matt for the classes. I got a bit carried away though as I asked the shop attendant for some advise. She told me the best matt to get (it’s purple) also she suggested I get some blocks and a rope, and for some reason I ended up buying one of those bouncy balls. She said ‘they’re simply perfect for doing your pelvic floor exercises’, apparently I should be doing these at my age! I’m not too fussed about my pelvic floor to be honest, just as long as I can wave goodbye to my bingo wings I’ll be happy.

I literally have a new outfit for each day we’re there – one for the day and one for the evening. I’ll only show you my most favourites of all though. My new Kurt Geiger sandals;

this Reiss maxi dress in coral;

and this holdall, by Mulberry, I got as my new ‘weekend away bag’ (I’d never needed one before);

In other news, when I get back from Nice I’m going to have a serious re-think about the marketing of my business. I stumbled upon an advertising blog the other day and it had a lot of interesting things to say…

After seeing Geoff only a few times I soon gave up my obsession with the Greek waiter and the idea of going to Greece on holiday, so when Geoffy asked if I’d like to be taken away for a few days obviously I said yes.

We’re going to Nice and the weather’s set to be lovely the weekend we’re going. I’m not going to inform you which weekend it is, just in case any criminals out there are stalking my Blog (ever the cynic I know). I haven’t seen what the hotel’s like as Geoff’s booked it all but I’m assured it’s perfect. You may be thinking ‘how’s Geoff the Gasman affording to swan Jen off on holiday and take her out for swanky meals all the time?’ but the answer is he’s not just any average Gas man. He actually used to be an investment banker in the City for 10 years, earning himself a small fortune and it was only when he realised that his life was revolved around money that he decided to retire and move to Hebden Bridge.

After a few months of relaxing though he retrained as a Gasman just to keep himself busy and active. He says he really enjoys it because it means he gets to help people, and meet people – including me .

So anyway, back to this holiday – tomorrow I’m going shopping and this is my list – new bikini, sarong, some sort of maxi dress, sandals, shorts, sunglasses, sunhat, sun cream, espadrilles, wedges. Stay tuned to hear of my purchases…

My sister and I often sit out in what is now our favourite bar in town – the Alchemist. It’s in the heart of Spinningfields so just a stone’s throw away when you’ve been shopping in House of Fraser or around St Anne’s square. They literally do the nicest cocktails and they have superb bar tenders who really know how to mix a good one. My favourite cocktail is the Porn Star Martini – I know the name is a bit embarrassing and I do giggle like a school girl when I order one, but it’s simply delicious. A blend of vodka, passion fruit, pineapple, vanilla, lemon and a shot of prosecco – it’s the perfect drink to accompany a relaxing afternoon in the northern city’s sun. Last time we went for lunch I also had a lovely crayfish salad – such a nice addition to a day’s shopping.

The Alchemist isn’t just a lunch-time drinks type bar though. It has a restaurant section with a good menu and in the evenings after work I’ve heard it gets really busy with Manchester’s high flyers whose offices are surrounding it. Another reason for enjoying sitting outside of bars in Manchester is the ability to people watch. Spinningfields is buzzing during lunch-times in the week. It has many Lunch places including the usual ‘Pret’ and ‘Eat’ but also slightly nicer restaurants like Strada and Carluccios. There are lots of businesses who have offices in the area and high end fashion shops, but there’s also the Crown Court and the Palace Theatre near. So in the space of half an hour sitting in the piazza people watching you can witness top lawyers, convicted criminals, high powered bankers, musical theatre stars and Manchester United WAGs.

I don’t like going out too many nights in the week and leaving my cats as I worry they miss me too much, so I invited Geoff over and it was great – he was so kind and brought roses over for me! We had my speciality of Quorn coq au vin, which seemed to go down well. Then Geoff and I watched that night’s Britain’s Got Talent – those shows are always entertaining and as we sat on the sofa with my cats we both fell in love with this amazing young star that literally stunned us with her beautiful voice.

Her name’s Jackie Evancho, she competed in the US version and performed on the English version.
Watch the video below, you won’t regret it;

As I was enjoying a delicious Moroccan chickpea tagine late one evening I suddenly found myself eating in darkness, and no that isn’t a metaphor for some kind of melancholy life-reflecting mood I was in – I genuinely had had a power cut. After messing about with the fuse box for a good hour and a half I realised I’d be much better off calling an engineer. By this point oregano was going a bit crazy so I didn’t have much choice.

Fifteen minutes later (I was impressed by the rapid response) there was a stunningly handsome man at my door. He introduced himself as ‘Geoff the Gas man’ and asked if he could take a look at my boiler. I explained that there’d be no point going down to my basement to look at my boiler as it had never been used – I have a heating system installed that runs from solar energy – but I do however, have electric lights. This was when he informed me that I should have called an electrician – not an engineer! We both had a good laugh (in the dark) about my stupidity and to my surprise/delight he then invited me to dinner.

Wednesday 7pm at a local bistro is the date. I’ve been to this place before, so I know they do good vegetarian food. It can sometimes be embarrassing having to inform possible suitors of my dietary requirements in case it puts them off, but luckily this won’t be the case. As I already embarrassed myself by appearing really dim when the power cut event occurred, I thought I’d better do some research before the date.

I want to be able to have an intelligent conversation with Geoff so did some internet research on oil and gas engineering– this also means that the likelihood of an awkward silence will be minimised. I’m actually finding the subject really interesting and have found some great stuff about the processes of oil extraction and how offshore oil plants get the product to our homes. I found a company that actually make the machinery that does it all, called Hydratight, I had no idea this whole industry existed until now – it’s fascinating what you can learn online.

Well I’ll let you know how the date goes – fingers crossed…

Please let me know what you think to them

This is great for summer and as the weather is starting to get hotter, it is perfect for a side to a BBQ!

A great, healthy pud! Who ever thought desserts could be healthy?!

enjoy!

I just don’t understand why people don’t see the benefit of organic produce. It makes me angry that many people just aren’t taught about organics, it is just seen as the ‘expensive’ food range. Many people ask me what organic means, I am more than pleased to tell them, organic foods are those that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.
Yes, a bit of a mouthful I know! But basically, organic food is much better than a lot of things we feed ourselves these days.
UK press release services need to be doing more to get organic produce to the front of the news, as they are the companies that predominantly control news agenda.
Organic foods are free from artificial colouring(AC). AC has been linked to Attention Deficit Syndrome in children and has been linked to other child behavioural problems. This is a serious and real problem that many people just seem to ignore. A few examples of foods with AC in are…

what you really want in your diet are fresh fruit and vegetables. Most supermarkets now offer an organic range in many of their stores, you really are supporting a good cause if you put down the cheaper option for the cleaner, fresher, organic version!