Lincoln Christmas Market 2015

I'm sure that most cities now get involved in the whole German Christmas market thing, I know Nottingham does and I can't wait to get back home to see it!

But last weekend (December 3-6) Lincoln's Christmas market came to town, with stalls from as far as Neustadt in Germany. (It was the first German Christmas market to come to the UK!)

I went to the market on Saturday evening and it was so chaotic I could hardly see anything. As you can see from the pictures above, it was difficult to even get close to some of the stalls! 

It was just like any other Christmas with German sausages, lots of candles, handmade jewellery, cheese and other overpriced gift-y things. but with over 250 stalls of it.

I don't want to sound overly critical, I would definitely go again because it's only a 10 minute walk for me, but it's just a very overwhelming experience with a bit too much to look at and too many people and too much of the same thing.

However, it's a nice way to start of the festive season and even if the gifts are too over priced for you (like they were for me) you can still have a wander round and look at all the interesting things the stalls have to offer, or you can get some mulled wine or hot chocolate or a hot dog.

The market was voted Best UK Market by The Daily Mail, but do you know of any better UK markets?

Sophie x

Lincoln Sausage Festival

(literally just a festival for sausages, don't get any weird ideas)

Every year at Lincoln Castle there is a festival known as the sausage festival, which showcases all of the amazing and unique food that originates in Lincolnshire such as the famous sausages, poacher cheese, plum bread, chutneys and wines.

As well as selling food, most of the stalls offer free samples so you can try the fancy cheese before you decide whether or not to spend £5 on it (surprisingly I didn't get tempted, but it was good cheese).

As you can see above, some stalls have demonstrations and little workshops where you can learn how to make sausages which looked very complicated.

I remember from last year there were performers for children such as clowns and musicians, but we got there at 4pm so it was probably too late to see.

Sorry about the quality of the photos, it was rainy and muddy all day.

Have any of you been to the Lincoln Sausage Festival?

Sophie x

Sheringham, Norfolk - things to do

Last week me and my family spent a week in a village in Norfolk called Holt. It was a bit rainy, so my photos didn't turn out that great, but in typical British style we still forced ourselves out of the cottage to go experience things, in the rain.

Here are some of the things we did!

Priory Maze and Gardens

Just outside Sheringham, you will find Priory Maze and Gardens, it is called this because slightly in the distance you can see ruins of a priory, but unfortunately you can't actually get to it (as far as I know). But the view is still lovely.

As you enter the gardens there is a large maze that we actually got lost in for about 10 minutes. From the maze there are lots of different gardens, filled with colourful flowers and some weird looking Alice in Wonderland like trees.

There is also a cafe which sells sandwiches and cake and tea and all the usual cafe stuff.

It costs £5.50 for an adult ticket and is open from 10am-5pm everyday. We only stayed for the morning because of the weather but if you get some lunch and take a slow wander around, you could probably stay a bit longer and turn it into a whole day thing.

The maze

The old priory in the distance

North Norfolk Railway

Between Holt, Weybourne and Sheringham runs a steam railway, completely ran by volunteers who replicate how the railway would have been in the 1900s. They play the parts of conductors, train drivers and ticket officers, which makes the experience very surreal as you wander around the museum and see photos of how the railway used to be.

We first stopped in Weybourne, which was just a station where we had a cup of tea and wandered around. Then we caught the next train into Sheringham, where we looked at the souvenir shops and had lunch at a cafe near the station.

I think the best part of the day was that we got to sit in one of the booths on the train, which sort of felt like being on the Hogwarts Express. The views were amazing, everything was green fields and in the distance you could see the sea, which is always nice when you live somewhere built up like Nottingham.

 An all day ticket costs £12 for an adult and you can travel as much as you want between Holt, Weybourne and Sheringham, so it's definitely worth it.

View from the train

Ticket office

I'm going to do another post when I get my Diana Mini photos developed, so there's more photos of the town and stuff on the way.

Have any of you ever been to Sheringham? Let me know what you thought!

Sophie x

6 Netflix shows to binge on this summer

I've been running out of things to watch on Netflix recently (I definitely need to go outside more), and I thought other people might be too, so here's a list of the things I thought were worth watching in case you've got nothing to do on a rainy day.

Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad was the first thing I watched when I first subscribed to Netflix. If you didn't already know, the show is about a chemistry teacher called Walter White who decides to start making and selling crystal meth to fund his cancer treatment. Jesse Pinkman, his old student joins him, even though they don't really get on and kind of hate each other most of the time. There are 5 seasons that get progressively darker as they go on, but there are some happy scenes too. I'm definitely considering watching it again.

Orange is the New Black

Orange is the New Black is another one that most of you have probably already heard of. Based on the book by Piper Kerman (you can read my review here), Piper Chapman is serving a 15 month sentence for transporting drug money for her girlfriend, Alex Vause, but she's now in her thirties and the crime was committed over 10 years ago. The show is about more than just Piper however, it is about lots of different women in the prison from all different backgrounds and different ages. I think it's amazing how some of the stories are true and it deals with important isssues. There are currently 3 season, with another one coming out next June.

90210

90210 is my easy watching show, you don't have to think much when you watch it. It follows a group of Beverly Hills teenagers from high school to college, it's all about relationships, family life and over dramatized teenage life like teen pregnancies and car accidents. It's all very glamorous and the outfits in the show are amazing. There are currently 4 seasons on Netflix so I'm hoping they add the final one soon.

Pretty Little Liars

Pretty Little Liars is my latest addiction, I started watching it last week then realised that there's over 100 episodes, and they're still being made, so this could take a while. It's basically a cheesy American high school show, but a girl is murdered and her four best friends are trying to find out what happened, whilst being blackmailed by a mysterious person called 'A'. It's another one that's easy to watch but it can get a bit creepy with all the murder stuff going on.

Better Call Saul

Once you've watched Breaking Bad, you have to watch Better Call Saul. It's basically the back story of two characters from Breaking Bad, Saul and Mike. I haven't actually finished this series but so far it's a lot funnier than Breaking Bad and not as dark, I think I might prefer it! I think it would be good even if you haven't watched Breaking Bad because they don't directly link together.

Life Unexpected

Life Unexpected is a bit of a strange concept, a girl called Lux has been in care all her life, then finds her biological parents who are given temporary custody of her. Cate Cassidy, her mother, is a radio dj and her father, Nate "Baze" Bazile owns a bar, they haven't spoke in 16 years but now have to take care of a teenager. It's really easy to watch and it's full of happy endings so it's a nice show to cheer you up. There are two season but Netflix only has the first one, I hope they put the next one on soon!

I just realised all of these shows are American, probably because Netflix doesn't really have a lot of British TV stuff, or maybe it's because I prefer cheesy American stuff.

Sophie x

Student bedroom essentials for all budgets

So this post is a bit like last weeks but rather than pretty pictures of unrealistic student rooms from Pinterest, I'm going to be talking about the essentials you need to take to uni and coincidentally, I'm moving into my new uni house today so my essentials are already packed.

Bedding

If you've got a bit of extra money to spend, Parachute have lots of bedding and blankets for you to snuggle into after a day of lectures or a night out.

At $249 (£160) these duvet covers made from a linen and cotton blend are definitely more of a luxury item. I love the colours because they look quite airy and Mediterranean. See more of their lovely bedding here.

Most of you probably won't be able to afford this kind of thing, but ADSA home have lots of lovely duvet sets too.

If you still want that airy Mediterranean feel then this duvet cover from ADSA home is £12, and it won't feel as soft and comfy but gives you money to spend on other essentials.

Fairy lights

A bit of strange essential but fairy lights really add a nice homely free to a bedroom, especially one made out of breeze blocks and florescent tube lights. Basic fairy lights can be very cheap, but Etsy have lots of unique handmade fairy lights if you want to spend a bit more.

These lights are from an Etsy shop called NajaKonicaSan and are £43.26. The seller also makes pink ones, which could brighten up your student room.

Fairy lights don't have to cost loads, IKEA have lots of novelty plastic fairy lights.

These lilac diamond lights are £14 and the little LED lights aren't too bright but give off a soft lilac colour.

Desk lamp

Desk lamps are always useful when you want to concentrate on revision or something late at night.

For £130 from John Lewis you can get this Pixar style desk lamp that can be angled in any direction.

For £15 from Tesco you can get this lamp which can also angle a little bit and also comes in blue.

Speakers

Speakers are an essential if you're just sitting in your room or if you're having a flat party.

This mini amplifier from Urban Outfitters is £250. It works as an amplifier for instruments but can also be used as a speaker for your phone.

This little Alba bluetooth speaker is from Argos for £9.99 so this is good if you want something a bit smaller and more portable. 

So there's some of my student essentials! What are yours? 

Sophie x