I was lucky enough to have a ticket to see Dirty Dancing at the Grand Opera House, Belfast on Wednesday 30th July. 

Although I have seen the film it's not a show that would be top of my 'must see' list. However, as I took my seat in the centre of Row G I was open minded and prepared to be entertained.

The show benefits from a toe-tapping, singalong song list, including favourites such as the opening number 'Be My Baby', 'Hungry Eyes' and of course '(I've had) The Time of My Life'. From the moment the curtain rose the audience was treated to fabulous dancing and singing from ensemble and principals alike. The ensemble was vibrant and oozed energy, immediately engaging the enthusiastic audience.

The dialogue was rather indistinct at the start, and I found it difficult to hear clearly over the band, but thankfully this was quickly rectified. The first rate band was in an elevated position at the rear of the stage, but this worked extremely well, particularly during the scenes where the live band was integral to the story.

The success of any show hangs chiefly upon the performances of the principals, and Dirty Dancing is no exception. Roseanne Frascona as Frances 'Baby' Houseman gave a sensitive and honest reading of the role, devoid of schmaltz. Claire Rogers was a stunning and accomplished Penny Johnson, Wayne Smith gave a superb vocal performance as Billy Kostecki - what a wonderful falsetto he possesses! But the undisputed star of the show was Gareth Bailey as Johnny Castle. His performance was masterly and incredibly charismatic - a fact that did not go unnoticed by the female members of the audience who gave him a huge ovation, and showed their appreciation of his fine physique displayed only in a pair of boxer shorts! 

The smaller parts were ably handled, although I personally did not enjoy the interpretation of Mr Shumacher played by Mark Faith - I felt the supposed 'comedy' of this role was overplayed and was more cringeworthy than funny. However, this was my only small niggle in an otherwise enjoyable production, one that I would certainly recommend you see. 

Dirty Dancing is running at The Grand Opera House Belfast until 16th Aug, and is definitely not to be missed! Tickets are available from The Grand Opera House www.goh.co.uk

Do you have a place that you remember with fondness from your childhood? For me that place is the sleepy little village of Portballintrae, a stones throw from Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway on N.Ireland's North Coast. The name alone is enough to conjure images of family holidays of yesteryear and the faces of loved ones long since passed on. So it was with some trepidation that I made a return visit for a short break last week. I wondered if the Portballintrae of 2014 would live up to the Portballintrae of my memories, and if it was still a good place for a family holiday, thirty years on.

     

                                              Portballintrae and Runkerry Headland.

     

                                                      Portballintrae Harbour

In my memory the sun always shone on those family holidays, and Portballintrae did not disappoint in 2014. The sun shone and temperatures reached a sticky 28 degrees centigrade!

So what is there to recommend Portballintrae for a family holiday? Well there are three beaches - the harbour beach pictured above, the 'town beach' and the magnificent strand at Runkerry, just over the River Bush next to Portballintrae Golf Club. There is a large variety of accommodation available from self catering apartments and houses to B&B's, caravans and a hotel. Portballintrae is well situated - close to Bushmils, Coleraine and Portrush. And for golfers it boasts a beautiful links golf course, in some of the most glorious scenery that N. Ireland has to offer.

            Runkerry strand in late evening sunshine       

For families with young children the Harbour and Town beaches provide safe sandy beaches with rock pools and water sports such as kayaking and paddle boards available. For surfers the strand at Runkerry provides large breakers perfect for surfing, however, it must be noted that the beach shelves very quickly and the currents are extremely strong, so is not suitable for anyone who is not a strong swimmer. 

There is one large, bright and attractive hotel in Portballintrae, The Bayview. As the name implies the restaurant looks out over the bay, with floor to ceiling windows making the most of the spectacular view.

                                           The Bayview Hotel, Portballintrae

I had lunch in the restaurant, and although there was a good selection of dishes on the menu, I was rather restricted by the need for a Gluten free meal. 

      A little salad on the side would have really improved the look of my gluten free chicken option!

 

  The food was a little bland, and lacked colour on the plate, but tasted nice and was well cooked.

       

There are plenty of options for eating out or takeaways in nearby Bushmills. This rather quaint little town, home of the world famous Bushmills Distillery, also has a good variety of shops catering for everything a family might need on holiday - from buckets and spades for the beach to crafts and gifts in The Millhouse.

                    

                         Local crafts are available in The Millhouse, Main Street, Bushmills

                                         

     The Millhouse stocks local crafts, jewellery and even some children's knitwear and toys! Definitely   

                                                           well worth a visit!

And when you've had a look around why not take time to sit by the beautiful River Bush and watch the world go by!

              

No trip to Portballintrae would be complete without a visit to nearby Portrush, stopping on the way to take in the magnificent view of medieval Dunluce Castle.

    

                                      The spectacular ruins of Dunluce Castle

When you arrive in the busy town of Portrush, take time to visit the towns beaches - there are plenty to choose from.

                  

           This, the smallest of the town's beaches is right in the middle of the front next to the Arcadia.

Portrush is a big hit with families - it has superb sandy beaches, excellent restaurants and cafés - of which my personal favourites are The Ramore restaurants situated at the Harbour, (www.ramorerestaurant.com) and 55 Degrees North on Causeway Street, (55-north.com) just opposite the beach above!

There is also a wide range of water sports available, a selection of shops and for those occasional rainy days Barry's amusements provides plenty of entertainment of or children young and old!

So did Portballintrae live up to my childhood memories? Is it a good destination for a family holiday in 2014? I can answer a resounding YES to both. I had a wonderful break, and my only regret was that it was too short!

The Millhouse Bushmills can be found on Facebook - www.facebook.com/millhouseni

For self catering accommodation contact Causeway Coast Rentals www.causewaycoastrentals.co.uk

Accommodation including caravan rentals can be found at www.holidaylettings.co.uk/Portballintrae

and at www.golflinksholidayhomes.co.uk/Portballintrae.

Portballintrae golf club is called Bushfoot Golf Club, www.bushfootgolfclub.co.uk

The Bayview Hotel can be found at www.bayviewhotelni.com

Would you like a fun night out? Do you love to eat high quality food made with the freshest of ingredients? Would you like to improve your cookery skills?

If you have answered 'yes' to any of the above then perhaps it's time you had a look at what Belfast Cookery School has to offer!

       

       The individual cooking stations. Get more information at  www.belfastcookeryschool.com

Situated in Castle Street, right in the heart of Belfast, Belfast Cookery School is run in association with Mourne Seafood Bar, a name synonymous with top quality food.

                                     

This was my second visit to Belfast Cookery School and follows hot on the heels of the McKinney's jam making workshop I attended just last week! Have a look at my blogpost for more details of that visit!

My friend 'That Belfast Girl' and I arrived promptly at 6pm, for the 'Curries of the World' class and were introduced to our chef for the evening - Stephen Jeffers. 

                               

           Head Chef Stephen Jeffers hard at work demonstrating the first of the evening's dishes. 

                                               Find him on Twitter @chef_jeffers

Stephen immediately put everyone at ease - there was no shouting or Ramsay style rants in this kitchen! He explained and demonstrated each step of the process thoroughly and when we were let loose to our individual coking stations Stephen checked our progress, giving the benefit of his many  years of experience.

                                     

                                 The lovely 'That Belfast Girl' and I, aprons on, ready to cook!

        

          

Belfast Cookery School provides the freshest of ingredients - including the biggest prawns I have ever seen!

               

During the evening we learned the techniques needed to successfully produce three dishes - Thai Fragrant Spiced Prawns, Lamb Dhansak and Lentil, chickpea and sweet potato Dahl. 

           

       

 

              Some of the ingredients for the lamb Dhansak. I love spicy food - lots of chilli for me!

          

        

                  My Lamb Dhansak steaming away - wish you could smell it - it's amazing!

       

           All that hard work deserves a little reward surely? Wine is included as part of the evening.

      

                           My completed Thai Fragrant Spiced Prawns - delicious!

Finally, just when tummies were beginning to rumble, and we could stand the fabulous aromas no longer, it was time to eat! 

                       

The food was beautiful, the atmosphere was relaxed and there was so much food that we all took a 'doggy bag' home. 'Excellent', I thought, that's tomorrow night's dinner sorted, but of course the contents of mine were immediately devoured by my teenage son who pronounced it 'totally delicious'!

I attended a Curry evening, but there are lots of different cuisines to choose from, (I'd love to try the Fish course next!) or why not book for a private party or work event and design your own course?

My opinion? Belfast Cookery School has created an original, fun and memorable night out, perfect for a special occasion, or an evening with a partner or group of friends and a great gift idea for a foodie!

An enormous thank you to Belfast Cookery School, Mourne Seafood Bar and our wonderful chef Stephen Jeffers for making this a night to remember. 

Thanks to Michael Burch for his photos of the event!

Jam making with McKinney's

I was in my element yesterday attending a jam-making workshop at Belfast Cookery School. The event was sponsored by McKinney's Sure-Set Jam Sugar with jam making demonstrated by top South African Chef and RTE1 regular Rozanne Stevens. 

                             Rozanne demonstrates the finer points of jam making.

In the extremely well-equipped surroundings of Belfast Cookery School, (www.belfastcookeryschool.com) Rozanne showed us how to make jam and relish. We also had ample opportunity to taste a wide selection of her jams, relishes and chutneys!

                               

                                    A bottle of freshly made Spiced Strawberry Relish.

Rozanne demonstrated how using McKinney's Sure-Set Jam Sugar takes the uncertainty out of jam-making. With Sure-Set Jam Sugar there's no boiling fruit for hours, anxiously testing the mixture every couple of minutes, wondering if it's ever going to set. With Sure-Set it's simple - boil for four minutes (yes you read that correctly, 4 minutes!) remove from the heat and let the mixture rest in the pot for 15 minutes before transferring to sterilised jars, and it's done!

Time for us to have a go, and off to our individual cooking stations armed with all manner of fruit and of course the Sure-Set Jam Sugar!

                                                    Don't forget the Sure-Set! 

 

                                      

                               That Belfast Girl and I had a lot of strawberries to prepare!

I was amazed by how easy it was to make gorgeous pots of jam, all perfectly set and delicious and came home inspired and eager to get started making lots and lots of jams and relishes. Guess what my friends will be getting for Christmas this year!

Thank you to all at McKinney's Sugar, Belfast Cookery School, and of course the lovely Rozanne Stevens for a fantastic day!

How I wish it was fashionable to be pale and interesting, but let's face facts those days are long gone and pale white legs just don't cut the mustard. So faced with the choice of paying for a spray tan (which with my red hair frankly just looks wrong) or a DIY tan, I always choose the DIY option. 

I have tried many self tanning products over the years, most of which turned me a very unattractive shade of orange, and many of which gave me a most unalluring perfume that was hard to eradicate even after showering! Now I have tried a new self tan from none other than M&S! Formula self tan lotion is easy to apply and I found it very moisturising even on my rather dry skin. The secret of success for a streak free self tan is preparation and this holds true with Formula self tan. Make sure you exfoliate thoroughly first (I didn't first time I tried it and paid the price with darker patches on knees and ankles), I'd also advise using a self tan applicator mit as this allows a smoother application, particularly with a non tinted tan such as this one. As for price, Formula is amazing value, it's currently half price, at only £3.75 for 200ml. My tip? Stock up while this offer lasts!

Summer Craft Crazy!

Today I finally got around to using some old curtain fabric that I'd had cluttering up my home for well over a year. I turned the fabric wrong side out and made this useful poufe. I made a liner from calico and stuffed it with bean-bag filling. 

         

The most difficult part of the whole project? Getting the beans inside!

                      

If you want to have a go at making your own poufe, make a template first - I made mine 60cm in diameter with a finished height of 30cm.

                       

Happy sewing!

I simply cannot resist a challenge, especially if that challenge also has a craft element. So when I heard that 'Nancy Said' of Lighthouse Yarns, Whitehead was running a mystery crochet-along I was in! 

The challenge involves following a pattern to crochet a mystery item. Although the pattern is available at the 'Nancy Said' Facebook page I couldn't resist a trip to her lovely shop to choose some beautiful wool for the project!

                               

Nina of 'Nancy Said' in Lighthouse Yarns, Whitehead. The shop is situated in an historic building - a former bank - in Whitehead's quaint Conservation Area.

                                      

Lighthouse Yarns has a wide selection of beautiful yarns, patterns, books, accessories, indeed everything the keen crochet or knitting fan could possibly want!

 I chose this beautiful yarn - I just couldn't resist the beautiful warm colours and the soft texture.

                      

The rules of the crochet-along state that no photos of finished, or even partly finished work are to be posted online until the challenge finishes on 15th August, so you'll have to wait until then to see how I get on. However, I can say that so far it's looking lacy and rather lovely!

If you want to take part in the crochet-along, or in the knit- along, also being run by Lighthouse Yarns, then contact Nina through her Facebook page 'Nancy Said' and get crafting!