Mothers' Day || Afternoon Tea at Maryville House

Before this Sunday past I'd never been for afternoon tea before, despite always wanting to go. In my mind I suppose it was always a little bit too expensive to justify, with most places charging upwards of £20 a head. However, when my sister made a surprise booking for Mothers' Day at Maryville House for the two of us, our mum and our grandma, there were absolutely no objections. It sounded like the perfect Mothers' Day treat, and in the end it really was!

Perhaps one of the best discoveries of the year for me, Maryville House is a beautiful Victorian bed and breakfast and tea room with all the charm of a quiet countryside retreat despite being nestled just outside Belfast City Centre, on the busy Lisburn Road. When I'd played around with the idea of afternoon tea before I don't think I would have ever considered Maryville, with afternoon tea at places like the swanky Merchant Hotel in the Cathedral Quarter being so well-known locally. However, kudos to Anna for this gorgeous find; I now can't think of anywhere better to experience some traditional afternoon tea, or even just to spend a very special Sunday afternoon!

Once we had arrived and were seated we were each given the choice of a huge selection of loose leaf tea and coffee. However, being the adventurous family we are, we all chose Maryville's own blend which was essentially a simple English breakfast tea- but it was delicious! Breakfast teas usually all taste the same to me, but this was exceptional, and the fact it was served in the most enormous china teapot did certainly add to the experience. 

Since it was Mothers' Day we were also all offered a lovely complimentary glass of prosecco, i.e. my most favourite thing, which as the designated driver I couldn't actually take advantage of! Very upsetting, though I may have still had one very cheeky sip!

After we'd each settled down with our tea and prosecco we were brought over a lovely plate of sandwiches and hors d'oeuvres- which didn't last for very long!- before we were presented with this glorious assortment of scones and cakes. There was everything from little meringues, to cupcakes to macarons. It's honestly making me hungry again just looking at the photos. I don't half wish I had a plateful of these in front of me again!

Finally, absolutely stuffed full of tea and cake we finished off our afternoon with a walk in the nearby Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park before heading off home. I really couldn't recommend Maryville House enough. Aside from the amazing food and tea, the girls who were serving us were so lovely and pleasant and it really made for a memorable day.

What did you get up to this Mothers' Day?

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A Night at the Theatre with Young at Art || Belfast Children's Festival

Despite its small size, here in Northern Ireland we're very proud to boast a hugely vast and vibrant culture. In fact, perhaps one of the best things about living here in Belfast is its huge array of arts and cultural events that run all throughout the year. One such special and highly anticipated event is the Belfast Children's Festival, now in its 18th year. The festival, which is organised by Young at Art, a not-for-profit children's arts organisation based in the very heart of Belfast City, is each year host to dozens of arty events from puppet shows to baby raves (!!) aimed at children aged 0-14 and their accompanying adults.

Being a bit of a culture vulture (as well as a massive child at heart), this year I was very pleased to have been invited along with my little cousin, Aimee to attend one of Belfast Children's Festival's 2016 shows, Bambi, performed by a very talented ensemble cast of three from Swiss theatre company, Vorstadt at the Mac theatre in Belfast's bustling Cathedral Quarter.

When we arrived at the venue it was a buzz of excited energy as the young audience waited for the theatre doors to open and the show to begin, with Young at Art staff close at hand giving out balloons and keeping everyone entertained. When it time for the show to start, we all filed into the Mac's lovely and intimate theatre where the cast was already on stage and in character, animatedly adjusting costumes and props and readily interacting with the audience as everyone took their seats. 

Truer to the original story than the version made famous by Disney, the play follows Bambi, a male deer as he finds his way through life in the woods, learning about its secrets as well as its hidden dangers, predominantly in the form of the menacing deer hunters that are said to lurk amongst the trees. Between them, the three cast members Vlad Chiriac, Gina Durler and Michael Schwager played a variety of colourful woodland creatures from the shrewd Mrs Magpie to two brutish playground bullies, much to the delight of the crowd who they had in fits of giggles from start to finish!

Despite the fact that the show was aimed at children around the age of 8, there was still plenty to be enjoyed by the older members of the audience. Aside from some fantastically engaging performances and some wonderfully creative staging, the show was full of brilliant wit and humour yet not devoid of a few very important lessons about friendship, love and loss. 

At this moment it's still not too late to check out some of the remaining events at Belfast Children's Festival which is still running until Wednesday 9 March! Here's a little snippet of what's happening: 

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Is Anybody Home?

Before I begin, I just want to offer a little disclaimer: this is a bit of a cheeky post in the sense that this was clearly a very mischievous and potentially dangerous activity, of that I'm very much aware. Our curiosity got the better of us this time, and with trespassing laws in Northern Ireland less concrete as in other parts of the UK, we weren't technically breaking any laws, but even so, it's risky business and I wouldn't try this at home.

Chris, Phil and I were en route somewhere else when we spotted this house, sitting snugly yet quite visibly, alone just off a country road. I'd seen it first, my attention having been drawn in by the two fireplaces protruding out of its exterior, and pointed it out to Chris, who, always up for an adventure, was eager to get a closer look. 

After driving around in an feverish loop trying to find a good place to turn back, we parked by the side of the road, at the top of an overgrown path that descended in a slope down to what was now clear to us as a very long-abandoned building.

At most I had expected just for us to have a quick snoop around the house's outside, which was interesting enough for me. As it had looked from a distance, half the house appeared to be missing, probably demolished. We examined each outside wall. The windows were sash and clearly very old. As expected, some of their panes had been broken, but most were still intact. 

As we made our way around the side and the back we were surprised to find that the house's front door was lying wide open, albeit completely obstructed by briers and weeds. The desire to have a look inside was just all too much for Chris as he and Phil began forming a pathway through. From the condition of the outside, which was quite a lot better than expected, I was beginning to think that perhaps it hadn't been abandoned for as long as we'd first believed. Maybe it had only been a few short years?

Once the boys had finally broken through I summoned up a bit of courage and followed them through the treacherous undergrowth and in through the door. It sounds incredibly cliché, but walking into the house we may as well just have passed into another world. 

Upon entering it became quite clear to us that the house had been left quite untouched, judging by the décor, for some thirty- or even forty-odd years. Carpets and curtains had frayed away to nothing, the walls and floor were beginning to seriously decay, and the green from outside was growing in and taking over what was once presumably the living room, through a large now non-existent window. Despite this, traces of another time certainly still remained: see retro wallpaper.

I didn't manage to capture everything we saw in the house, mostly because I was completely creeped out the entire time and didn't want to venture too far without either Chris or Phil close by my side; but among our finds was a huge television, from the 50s or 60s, the kind with the massive dials on the front. There was also a beautiful free-standing bath, which you can see, and the phone pictured. Weirdly, its line had been cut. 

I'd definitely be lying if I said this wasn't a bit of a chilling experience. I felt very much as though I was in someone else's home, in their personal space, even if that home was now just fragments of what it once was. I almost expected to turn a corner and find someone sitting quietly among the debris, but there was no one. I think that was the strangest part. Despite the open door and broken window, there was no sign of anyone having been there in decades. No litter, no graffiti, no blankets or dens made by squatters, just an empty house. 

I've spent the last couple of days trawling through Google trying to find out any information at all about this house, and bizarrely, so far I have found absolutely nothing. It may as well not even exist. However, our visit there has ignited a very violent curiosity in me, so I'm definitely not giving up just yet.

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A Wintry Walk || Mount Stewart, Co. Down

Um, so I have a bit of exciting news...(!!!) After years of desperately longing for one, this Sunday past I finally took the leap and got myself a digital SLR! I'm so beyond thrilled it's ridiculous, and despite my little Nikon Coolpix camera having served me so well this last year and a half on Alphabeth, I can't say I'm the least bit sad to see it go! *sassy wave*

For anyone who's interested, I got the Canon 700D after hearing some good reports and I'm genuinely so chuffed with it! Today was the first time I'd had the chance to use it- albeit with just my little kit lens- and it's just such a massive improvement from my Nikon, I could cry. 

Since I was off work today, on what happened to be the first clear day in weeks, my grandparents and I decided to and pay a visit to a National Trust property, Mount Stewart. We had a lovely afternoon strolling around the grounds, followed by a cup of tea and some sandwiches in the car. It was a really nice, relaxing mid-week break, even though I did keep forgetting my lens cap wasn't attached to my camera strap and kept hurling it onto the ground every time I took it off- that's a habit I'm going to have to get out of!

Hope you've all had a fantastic start to December! x

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