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Jun 15 2011
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Life

Generic update in the middle of June

I’ve just realised that we definitely are in the middle of June. How interesting. Anyway…

About a week ago I had a job interview that came out of nowhere. It was for a really cool sounding position that involved coding, digital marketing and lots of other interesting things but once again I lost out. You know why I lost out? Because they picked a candidate with experience in the field. It seems like it’s almost impossible for me to actually get a job if the candidates I’m up against are more experienced. Either way, I did get some really positive feedback and I now have a plan as how to proceed from here. This might take a while to implement properly though because of something that will be mentioned in the next paragraph.

Next week, me and my girlfriend head off to Glastonbury. This is my second but for her it’ll be her first having been harshly denied the chance to go last year for tedious reasons. We are going to be with a heap of friends and we’ll probably enjoy it immensely. I’m not doing any live-blogging this year and will be shunning the internet all together so I will, in effect, be completely cut off from the outside world for a few days. Should be interesting. Glastonbury also happens to start a ridiculously busy period for me. I will be on holiday in Rome the weekend after Glastonbury – it was a birthday present – and then the weekend after that I’m going to be in Spain covering the Bilbao Live BBK festival for Clash. There’s also a Weezer gig somewhere in the midst of it all.

At the moment I’m having what could be considered a ‘think about what I want to do’. Because of the hectic nature of the next couple of weeks I might go on a mini-shutdown. Hopefully I’ll be able to come to some conclusion about where I can go. Should I try and do more freelance work for new clients? Should I go pitching article ideas again? Should I still be applying for something more full-time? Either way, the only thing I’m certain of is that I will keep doing work for Guildford People and I’ll keep doing the music writing stuff because, in the case of the former, it’s financially satisfying for a freelance gig and, in the case of the latter, it’s still fun to do and I feel like I can develop a lot more in that field.

So that is where I’m at. I will also try to blog more because I’ve been really slacking in that area for 2011. Sorry!

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Jun 12 2011
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Life

How to make sun dried tomato and basil scones

Scones!

Over the weekend I baked some savoury scones – my first attempt at proper baking for a good few years. I was immensely pleased with the results. The combination of sun dried tomatoes and basil seemed to go down a treat with the people who sampled it so, given that a few asked for the recipe, here it is. My version is based off this recipe, so I’ve modified it a bit.

You will need:

  • 5 dl plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 4 tbsp dried basil
  • 80 g butter
  • 1 dl sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, well drained and finely chopped
  • 1 dl milk
  • 1 egg, slightly beaten
  • olive oil to brush

Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius.
  2. Add the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, black pepper and basil and stir together.
  3. Blend in butter (making sure to slightly melt it in the microwave beforehand – this takes all of fifteen seconds though it depends how powerful your microwave is) and get the mixture to look a bit coarse, making sure to squeeze out all the lumps of butter. This is best done with your hands.
  4. Stir in the tomatoes.
  5. In a seperate bowl, mix the egg with the milk before adding it to the main mixture until it is moist.
  6. Knead the dough. What you want is a dough that isn’t too sticky. If you realise that it’s not ready after a few turns, add some more flour.
  7. Get a baking tray and put greaseproof paper on it.
  8. Grab a clump of dough and mold it into a ball, rubbing it against the palm of your hands. Place on the tray and squeeze the top to make it look roughly like a small 6” circle.
  9. Brush all the scones with olive oil. You could also use melted butter as an alternative.
  10. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until they turn golden brown. If you have an uneven oven it’s good to turn the tray around halfway through just so that it all gets cooked evenly.

Enjoy!

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Apr 18 2011
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Life

Adjusting to the role of ‘lone motivator’

So, it’s mid-April and we’re entering a stage of the year that I always call the ‘manic section’. I always seem to have a lot of things planned for April and May and this year seems to be no different. Amongst the things I have planned include meeting with my girlfriend’s family who are coming over from Finland this week, covering That Damned Wedding for LocalPeople in Guildford, going to one day of Camden Crawl, seeing many other gigs and head off to Brighton for The Great Escape. This is all before my next batch of pay.

This year, however, there is one crucial difference. No deadlines. No tutors snapping at my heels. No last-minute assignment tinkering. I’m no longer at university. Hell, I’m no longer at any educational institution.

This is something that has felt weird as the year has progressed. In September, watching everyone stock up on stationary and other items for university or college or whatever was quite nostalgic and it was bizarre to find myself now out of that circle. After more than a decade of learning the routine is suddenly over.

I’ve had similar thoughts when people I know who are still at university are scrambling to finish off dissertations. All I keep thinking is “wow, it’s been a year since I did that…” and being slightly horrified that I’ve moved on so quickly from that period.

And then after graduating I’ve had some kind of contact with former co-students. Some have moved onto jobs, some haven’t, some are in a position where they’re going freelance…it’s a mixed bag of fortunes.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s a very surreal feeling to be in charge of your own destiny, as it were, when your calendar is piled up and you have a mountain to work to achieve. For example, I’m already working on some pretty ambitious coverage for The Great Escape on The Musical Chairs and it’s especially difficult since I’m on my lonesome. There is tremendous desire to get it finished on time because I think it’ll look good when completed but I’m the lone motivator.

It’s all up to me now. This is both a frightening and liberating experience all at once.

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Apr 04 2011
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Life

Quick note

Just a quick note to say that a new version of my online CV is up for you to look at. I’ve also breathed new life into my LinkedIn profile so please feel free to add me. It’s not quite a finished article but it should be soon. The portfolio has also been updated with new things I’ve recently written.

I’ll try and write a substantial blog entry tomorrow since attempting to write substantial-sounding words straight after a fever is difficult.

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Mar 19 2011
Life, News, Media & Sport

A first-person account of a benefits system that is broken

We all too often hear about how broken the benefits system is but I don’t think there are many first-hand accounts that show this. Some of this might be stating the obvious but this ordeal that I’ve had to encounter, in several phases, has gone on for such a frustratingly long time that I’m at a point where I’m more than willing to talk about it. Why? In the vain hope that someone out there will listen. I’ll try and keep this as non-ranty as possible.

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