Christmas has officially started:- Fenwicks Window 2013

A visit to Fenwicks window really signifies the start of Christmas celebrations in the Rickelton house. It is the first festive thing we do and we usually visit one night after school in the last few days of November (it is so much nicer in the dark) whilst the continental market is in town.

This year, the queues were really quite longer than normal. The children waited patiently though (Lego Santa kept them company).


The theme of Fenwicks window changes every year and I'm delighted to say that we loved this years 'fairytale' theme. Every window featured a different favourite tale. As always, the attention to detail is outstanding. We loved spotting the little mice in each scene. Here are a few of our favourite parts:-






We particularly loved hansel and gretal, little red riding hood and Rapunzel.

One thing does annoy me with Fenwicks window and that is the people that don't know how to queue like the rest of us and think it is ok to push in! Or even worse push in and take 10 minutes taking photos of their children while they hold the whole queue up! Hmmm I guess this just highlights some of the rudeness in our society. Hope they get coal in their stocking!

The continental market in Newcastle is on until 30th November. It is based around Grey's monument. It's not huge and there isn't a lot of selection gift wise but there are a couple of lovely food stalls and a good few options for eating food on the go. These meringues caught my eye - we bought a lemon one for supper.




As part of our tradition we usually let the kids choose some sweets from the market. There wasn't much choice though (unless you liked fudge) so we decided to end our evening with a trip to nearby hotel chocolat for a reindeer lollipop. 


So that's it, our festivities have officially started! Next is a trip to York Christmas market, a trip to the under 6's panto at Northern Stage and then decorating the house, putting our tree up and the arrival of elf on the shelf&advent calendars on the 1st December. Have you started your festivities yet? 



















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I HATE SNOW!

Ahhhh! The first snow of the season has arrived and I am not a happy bunny!


I hate snow for the following reasons:-

1- It is cold and slippy
2 - Driving in snow just fills me with fear
3 - I need to get out if bed half an hour earlier to get car ready

Honestly I really don't know what there is to like about it? Well apart from it makes my festive book display look more festive!





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Date night - Valley Junction and As U Like It


Last week we celebrated 7 years of marriage! This sort of accomplishment definitely deserves a nice meal out and a few drinks. We really fancied something spicy and somewhere that was easy to get to so decided on the Valley Junction restaurant in Jesmond.

The Valley Junction is owned by the same people who run the infamous Newcastle-Corbridge curry train. The restaurant in Jesmond is stationery but the train theme is still there - in fact half of the restaurant is a converted train carriage!


There is plentiful free parking outside. Valley Junction has an upmarket feel and it is the sort of place you would go for a special treat - it was mostly couples and a few large groups. 


The service throughout was just fantastic.   From the waiter promptly taking our orders, to the manager circulating and checking all of his guests were happy to the way all of our food was brought out at the same time so there was none of that awkward waiting around. We really were made to feel like a guest and not an inconvenience.

The food was also delicious, we ordered popadoms and dips to start - lovely to see the dips were in plentiful supply and then I ordered chicken madras, pilau rice a garlic naan. Everything was perfectly cooked - the naans were nice and fresh, chicken very tender and the sauce was hot and full of warmth but not so hot that it makes your eyes water! 

Hubby ordered his new favourite dish - chicken dupiaza with mushroom pilau and garlic naan. He describes the dish as being full if flavour with a spicy kick (but not overpowering).

We also enjoyed a couple of large cobra's each to wash our meal down with. The bill was just short of £50 which is on the expensive side for what we had, however as it was a special occasion and the ambience, food and service were all faultless I think this price is absolutely worth it. There were lots of little touches at the end such as chocolate business cards, hot towels and free coffee refills at the end of the evening which are all lovely touches to end a special treat.

You just need to cross the carpark to find yourself at 'as u like it' which is a bar, restaurant, function room and terrace. We have been a few times and really like it here. There is a good mix of people and you don't feel out of place when you're nearly approaching the grand age of 30 like you might feel in some of the bars in town. On the night of our visit there was a live band playing a selection of soul and groove music mixed with a DJ playing disco hits from the 70s through to present day. The bar was busy, but we still managed to get a table and enjoy our night.

When I visit a cocktail bar, I have to order a cocktail! I think the menu could have a little more variation and I was disappointed to hear that the frozen cocktails were not being served that evening due to a problem with ice. There went my raspberry daiquiri! Instead I ordered a toblerone cocktail which was enjoyable, however there was no sign of a honey float and our waitress obviously did not attend charm school! We seemed to be greatly inconveniencing her by asking her to make us a cocktail!. 


Next, I decided to try a piña colada, which I was expecting to arrive in a pineapple as described on the menu! It appears I was short changed though as there was no pineapple in sight (well apart from a token pineapple leaf used to decorate my glass) This cocktail was delicious though and it is nice that it was freshly made rather than pre-made like many piña coladas are these days!


We only managed 2 drinks before it was time for our taxi to take us home. Overall we had a lovely night and will definitely be visiting this area of Jesmond again soon - think we'll stay away from the cocktails though and maybe opt for a bottle of wine at as u like it instead.









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