A photography course in Edinburgh: the joy and terror of stepping out of your comfort zone

Tags

comfort zone, confidence, edinburgh, edinburgh old town, photography, positive thinking, stills gallery

There are many adages that encourage us to break free from our habitual behaviour and seek out new experiences that really challenge us – feel the fear and do it anyway, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and so on.

I learnt the importance of pushing myself out of my comfort zone (kicking and screaming, if need be) from a young age. I was recovering from ME and had to reintegrate myself back into society, and not just any society…teenage society, urgh. There were a lot of scary moments – my first day back at school after a year and half long absence was a particularly daunting one. But I learnt a crucial life lesson in that period – the value of making myself scared.

Since then I’ve made scaring myself an essential part of my life. Doing things that make you feel uncomfortable draw on the resources deep inside you. You discover that you have the confidence, resilience and capability to handle anything. In other words, stepping outside your comfort zone helps you grow.

Different things scare different people.  A good test is if you feel like every cell in your body is telling you to turn and run in the opposite direction, you’re there. I’ve learnt to recognise when I’m outside my comfort zone because I get shaky hands…sometimes even shaky knees (this happened a lot when I did spoken word performances, sharing your writing with an audience is rather nerve-racking).

So if you’re feeling incredibly uncomfortable, like you might do a wee cry and goddamit just want to go home…welcome to the no-man’s land outside your comfort zone! It isn’t easy, but it’s the best place in the world to learn.

I want to share with you my most recent excursion from my comfort zone. I was extremely lucky to be able to attend an intensive five-day photography skills course at Stills gallery in Edinburgh, tutored by some very patient and very talented photographers. I love taking pictures and was so excited to learn more about photography, but I was totally unprepared for what a learning curve it would be – learning about ISO, shutter speed, aperture and everything else involved in taking a semi decent photograph.

Then came the bit that really scared me. Going up to complete strangers and asking to take their picture. It wasn’t the talking to strangers that bothered me, I’m quite comfortable talking to people I don’t know. It was the machine in my hands that I didn’t know how to use properly, and the pressure that I was heaping upon myself to take a not just good, but great photo. As well as trying not to come across as some pervy weirdo to the person whose picture I was taking.

I wandered the streets of Edinburgh, aware of the deadline set for the environmental portrait brief (a picture of someone in their usual environment, most commonly at work), looking at the unfamiliar faces and wondering who would be kind to me yet also an interesting subject for the picture. One thing I know, is the longer you leave something the worse it gets. Like damp. Or athletes foot.

My fear was rising to an alarming level, so after a few minutes surreptitiously lurking in the shadows of a skateboarding shop, I marched myself to the front desk and did my best impression of someone who wasn’t-nervous-at-all-and-was-actually-totally-down-with-the-kids-yo. And it worked. I got a photo, it wasn’t perfect, the focus was all wrong, but I had approached a stranger and taken their photo.

Nothing is ever as scary as the first time you do it. It’s the fear of the unknown that keeps us under our safety blankets, but once you’ve experienced something new you get to know what you’re working with.

After that I began to have more confidence with the camera. Leaving your comfort zone is the best way to give your confidence a boost. As the course drew to a close, I was exhausted but felt a true sense of achievement. Here are some snaps from the latter end of the week, you can probably tell how much more at ease I felt by then…

Cockburn Street and the narrow closes of Edinburgh’s Old Town are such brilliant places to take pictures!

Feeling inspired? Here are some things you could try to go outside your comfort zone;

• Solo travel
• Improvised comedy
• Running a 5k
• Treetop adventure course

I’ve tried all of these and must say the one I would never do again is the treetop adventure course. I hated every minute of it – and got told off for swearing so loudly and frequently – but I’m so proud of myself for giving it a go, at least now I know it’s not for me!

I’d love to hear what you’ve done, or plan to do, outside your comfort zone, so please do share in the comments below…

 

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A spring feast at Summerhall

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edinburgh, edinburgh foodies, fireside collective, foodie event, seasonal ingredients, seasonal produce, spring, summerhall

On the 1st of May, spring came to Edinburgh. But not in the way you might expect. Picture a blustery, damp evening in the capital, with just one haven of floral loveliness glowing through the gloom, where the aroma of freshly baked dough filled the air and girls danced with garlands in their hair.

Summerhall’s Dissection Room was the venue for Edinburgh-based events company the Fireside Collective’s latest foodie creation – the Spring Blossom Party. Stepping into the spacious venue I felt the stresses of my day slip away and my senses piqued by gorgeous spring flowers that adorned every wall, neuk and cranny.

The contrast between the stark, clinical backdrop of the old vet school coupled with the colourful, lavish floral displays – designed by the expert hands of Pyrus – felt pretty special. The juxtaposition tricked the mind, and I felt almost transported into an otherwordly plane.

As with any well thought out foodie event, the magic lay in the detail. We were greeted by elderflower and champagne cocktails, the perfect spring sparkler, and encouraged to make our own flower garlands to wear. The long dining tables were promisingly dressed for a hearty feast, draped with cherry blossom and other such foliage.

the party kicks off at Summerhall

Spring had truly sprung, and along with it came a veritable feast of earthly goodies. The communal element to the feast meant everyone got talking, and the atmosphere felt almost celebratory. We sat down to shots of tangy gazpacho and refreshing mint and pea soup, which added colour to the table and a hint at the tasty delights to come.

eyeing up the salmon rillettes

What followed was a trio of salmon rillettes with a caper and gherkin dressing, served with homemade oatcakes that was simply delicious. The main event came in the form of pizza breads and spring inspired salads, expertly prepared by Sarah-Jane Cooking who specialises in using fresh, local and seasonal ingredients. Particular highlights included the chorizo, blue cheese and walnut pizza bread and the uber refreshing cucumber, coriander and lime salad, which felt like I was literally tasting spring.

The finale came in the form of a cake platter – well hello there, heaven. For a moment I had to remind myself I was in public and the cake board was for sharing, but everything just look so bloomin’ scrumptious. I settled for a slice of the rose petal sponge cake and white chocolate & chilli pie (well it was a feast, after all…) and they certainly didn’t disappoint.

hello, cake

The feast itself was followed by further revelry and Motown-fuelled dancing, probably well into the wee small hours. But, with it being a school night, I skulked off into the night with a smile on my face and a belly full of spring.

The Spring Blossom Party was merely the start of a series of Fireside Feasts run by the collective, with the next shindig planned in collaboration with cakey extraordinaires LoveCrumbs. Quite frankly, I’m already salivating.

Fiction: Face in a Jar

Tags

creative writing, edinburgh, fiction, flash fiction, surgeons hall museum

A little fiction inspired by the weird and wonderful exhibits of Edinburgh’s Surgeon’s Hall Museum…

Amongst the many strange items in my Auntie Meg’s house, by far the strangest was a face in a jar. In her younger years, my aunt had taken her manic grin and unsettling squint across the globe to collect trinkets; scorpions set in glass poised to sting, black shrunken heads that dangled on string, grimacing puppets with ghoulish wide grins from places like Sri Lanka and Nepal. Upon her return she crammed the objects into the shelves of her tiny home, and over the years they had grown as old and as forgotten as Auntie Meg herself. As a child I believed that if you stayed inside the house for too long you might one day find yourself sitting on one of those creaking shelves, or tucked away in a dark bedroom corner gathering dust, find that you too had become one of the trinkets.

The face sat on the mantelpiece suspended in a jar of yellowed water, quite still and appeared to be asleep. One day when she left the room I found myself creeping closer to get a better look. There was a small sticker on the side with 1917 written on it and I remembered she told me it was a solider who had died in the First World War. Pale and red haired like me, his eyelashes looked so very delicate, preserved and softened by time, pressed against the wrinkled skin under his eyes. Those were the lines of a man who cried, there was no doubt those eyes had known tears. I wondered if they had known love too. Perhaps that was why he cried. His cheeks were bristled with stubble that had stopped growing almost a century ago. Twisted nostrils, skewed and black from the bullet hole that killed him through the left side of his nose, thick old fashioned sutures pointlessly held the wound closed. Shutting my eyes, I inhaled; the smells of burning, gun powder, dusty roads, hot dinners, hot sweats, bodies, then in the end the smell of fear. When I looked again two brown eyes, black as the barrel of a gun, stared back at me and I jumped before I realised it was only my own reflection in the glass.

Still he slept, another century of dreams from his jar to come. Curious I reached for it, tentatively feeling the smooth glass against my fingertips, knowing I shouldn’t but I wanted a closer look. I wanted to know all of this man, to see what happened where his forehead stopped, where his skull should have been.

Lifting him toward me I could feel the slip before it happened. The jar out of my hands smashed across the hard wooden floor. The silence that followed seemed to stretch for ninety four long years. Liquid and shards and a lump of soggy flaccid flesh lay sadly at my feet face down, the gristle behind the face now on show. Auntie Meg appeared in the doorway, she looked down and sighed.

“That was your great-grandfather.”

 

 

 

 

Curry, bhajis and dosa at Edinburgh Mela

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bhaji, Curry, dosa, edinburgh, edinburgh mela, goan curry, indian food, lamb curry, paneer

Edinburgh’s annual Mela kicked off on Friday night with a stunning fireworks display in Leith Links, along with the story of Rama and Sita told through shadow puppetry. After an enchanting evening, I had one thing on my mind – tasty Indian food. And lots of it.

Leith Links was transformed into a bustling hive of festival activity, with heavenly scents wafting from each stall where chickpeas sizzled and fresh mango lassis were dispensed. Colourful scarfs and traditional Indian dress fluttered in the light breeze, while the infectious low beat of drums topped off the festival atmosphere.

After a little African storytelling it was time for lunch. I made a beeline for the Goan curry stand and opted for a deliciously spiced lamb curry with rice, salad, yoghurt dressing and lime pickle.

My friend picked a paneer dosa – like a pancake with cheese inside – along with some dipping sauces and some veggie bhajis with a yummy mild sauce. Everyone sat around eating on the grass, and the Mela had a really relaxed feel to it, with plenty to see for everyone.

Big tip for the Mela next year? Don’t arrive too late – as we left at around 4pm the queue was enormous!

Mexican takeaway from Los Cardos

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Bite Magazine, edinburgh, los cardos, mexican, nachos, quesadilla, takeaway

Last night I found a little slice of Mexican heaven…

 

…Los Cardos review for Bite Magazine coming soon.

Curiouser and curiouser…an evening of beer and chocolate

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beer, beer tasting, chocolate, chocolate tasting, edinburgh, edward and irwyn, innis and gunn, innis and gunn pop up bar

Photography by Mary Overmeer

Few things in life give me greater pleasure than a well-crafted beer or a devilishly indulgent piece of chocolate. Understandably then, I almost did a backflip* when I heard about A Curious Evening of Beer and Chocolate at the Innis and Gunn pop-up bar.

Independent, Edinburgh-based brewing company Innis and Gunn teamed up with artisan chocolatiers Edward and Irwyn for a tastebud seducing evening of beer and chocolate matching.

Since my plus one was a little *ahem* late I spent some time nursing a rather tasty Innis and Gunn Blonde and pretending to scribble some very important notes in my little notepad. Luckily I got a chance to grab a few words with Kirsty – one of the Edward and Irywn chocolatiers – who told me about their plans to open a kitchen up in Morningside in September, and that they believe in making chocolate the old-fashioned way, using techniques like hand tempering.

The tastings kicked off with an Innis and Gunn Original paired with Heather Honey Honeycomb milk chocolate. The comforting chocolate evoked memories of distant Christmas mornings, but my usual favourite beer didn’t have quite the same appeal when mixed with something else so sweet.

Next came a Stewart Brewing Coconut Porter paired with Rye Crumb Vanilla Salt Coconut Meringue – as if my night of beer and chocolate wasn’t going well enough, now I had coconut thrown into the mix – bliss! The chocolate was a challenging mix of hearty coconut, with the sweetness of chocolate and salty toasted molasses which danced back and forth on the tongue. The porter (which I’d tried and loved before) was also delicious, yet I felt the flavours were not contrasting enough to make it an interesting pairing. Rob suggested a chilli beer might have been better to complement the cool coconut flavour.

Next up was the talk of the evening – an Innis and Gunn Rum Finish paired with a deceptively normal looking slice chocolate, the Perfume Spiced Valrhona Blend. The explosion of flavour from the chocolate was quite simply stunning – spiced with vanilla seeds, clove, cardamom and rose – and I thought the pairing with Rum Finish was spot on, perhaps mostly due to the interesting combination of rum and cardamom.

The final indulgence was an Innis and Gunn Canada Day special brew, accompanied by Malted Honey Salted Caramel in extra dark milk chocolate. Made with Scottish Blossom honey, the chocolate caramels were positively melt-in-the-mouth. I’d happily line up eight of these badboys with a nice bottle of red for a quiet night in…

All in all a spiffing evening, and just writing about the chocolate is literally making my mouth water. Now counting down the days until Edward and Irwyn open their doors in September…

Thanks to Mary Overmeer for allowing me to use her wonderful photographs in this post – you can find her at @MaryOvermeer or check out her website.

Taste cancelled…brought back down to Earthy

Tags

cake, Cooking, Earthy, edinburgh, flat white, Home, leith, Saturday

“I don’t quite know how to tell you this, Louise…”

That was how my boyfriend Rob prefaced the news that Taste of Edinburgh food festival had been cancelled. At that point only the Saturday sessions were cancelled. My disappointed face came out and moped around a little. Then the entire Taste weekend was cancelled and my disappointed face got even more disappointed and I moped around some more.

But what was I going to EAT all weekend? Luckily Rob gathered my sorry little self up and off we went to Earthy at Canonmills for a spot of lunch.

I bloomin’ love Earthy in Portobello and the small section of shop in Earthy Canonmills has the same vibe going on – fresh, local, healthy, organic produce for the health conscious foodie.

With my stomach already set to indulge in preparation for Taste, I was ready to bury my sorrows under mountains of cake. The rain, however, had other ideas. As if drowning Taste wasn’t enough, it turned out the kitchen in Earthy had been flooded – which the furiously flowing waters of the Water of Leith outside the window further attested to – so no food was being served.

We didn’t get lunch, but there was a small selection of cakes to choose from. I went for a raspberry and white chocolate cake, while Rob had a lemon and rosemary cake.

The presentation was…interesting, although I couldn’t really fault the waitress’ cheeriness despite the downpour outside. In fact all the staff were very upbeat and lovely.

My flat white ticked all the boxes but the cake didn’t really satisfy me (possibly a lingering effect of my indulge setting), it just tasted kind of…healthy. I understand it was probably made with the most wholesome organic flour/sugar/eggs money can buy, but it just seemed to be lacking something. Cake should be moreish, rich, and you should feel a bit naughty when you’re eating it.

What Earthy does have going for it is atmosphere. From the quirky low hanging lightbulbs that pepper the ceiling, to the heavy wooden furniture, Earthy Canonmills has a charming, welcoming feel to the place.

I’m definitely going to go back to Earthy and give it a second bash because I’ve heard only good things about the place. Might just have to wait for it to stop raining…

Plan for Taste next year? Go to the Friday session 🙂

 

 

 

Looking Glass cafe and bookshop

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bookshop, brownie, cafe, cake, Carrot cake, edinburgh, flat white, Looking Glass, Macaroon, Muffin, Peter, Quartermile, Starbucks

Looking Glass cafe and bookshop is the newest addition to the spangly, glass-fronted Quartermile and on Sunday I popped in for a cake (or two!) and a cuppa.

The cafe is tucked away behind Starbucks and Peter’s Yard, and perhaps for this reason we didn’t have to fight to get a seat or a table in Looking Glass – although the two big comfy sofas were already taken. The atmosphere was pretty laid back and I found myself distracted by a) the lush looking selection of cakes on the counter and b) the rows and rows of pretty books.

The cake selection was adequate although not particularly breath-taking, with the cafe staples – scones, carrot cake, cupcakes and flapjacks. I opted for a nutty chocolate brownie AND chocolate and coconut macaroon (in my defense the macaroon wasn’t that big…) and a flat white. The macaroon and coffee were delicious, although the brownie was rather average.

After scoffing the cakes I weaseled my way around the book selection which was small but perfectly formed, and I was pleased to see a section dedicated to Scottish fiction. The tables were a little small for the three of us, but I’ll head to Looking Glass again for some quiet time – to curl up with a good book and to treat myself to a macaroon…or three.

Dinner at Roseleaf bar cafe

Tags

Cooking, edinburgh, food, Gluten, Gluten Free, Gluten-free diet, Home, Restaurants, Roseleaf, Salmon, Shopping, Special Diets, The Shore

I’m lucky enough to have the Roseleaf as (one of) my locals down at the Shore, and have spent many a cosy evening in this welcoming little place with friends or the boyfriend and a glass of wine.

Last night I took my Mum here for dinner, as I’d heard they have a rather good gluten-free selection – and they do! If the cute, vintage-inspired décor and pot-tails (cocktails in teapots, of course!) aren’t enough to draw you in, the food certainly should be.

Every possible dietary requirement was clearly marked out on the menu and Mum was delighted to find Goc stood for gluten free with oatcakes. I was impressed – normally it’s a struggle to find somewhere catering so perfectly to gluten-free diets.

We both went for the Sicilian Salmon – a seared salmon loin on a bed of warm caponata salad including peppers, aubergines, olives and capers, surrounded by a creamy plum tomato and yoghurt dressing and garnished with plenty of rocket.

It took a little while for our order to come out, but when it finally did I enjoyed every mouthful. I particularly liked the crispiness of the salmon skin and the rocket and creamy dressing worked well together. This would be the perfect dish on a sunny afternoon with a crisp glass of white wine.

I loved the Roseleaf before, and now I’ve tried its food I love it even more.

Five foodie activities for the Jubilee weekend

Tags

ale, beer, diamond jubilee, edinburgh, fynefest, holiday, ice cream, jubilee, looking glass bookshop, lovecrumbs, market, portobello, weekend

Sunshine may be looking a little dubious, but that doesn’t mean this hungry weasel won’t enjoy every minute of the long weekend. I’ll be spending it munching my way around the capital in search of new Edinburgh culinary adventures.

Queenie may favour a cucumber sarnie or two, but if you fancy something to royally tantalise your taste buds, then read on for my top five tips for things to eat (and drink!) in Edinburgh and beyond over the Jubilee weekend…

1.Head to Porty beach for an ice cream

I don’t know about you, but I still enjoy an ice cream by the seaside as much as I did as a kiddie! Just make sure you eat it before it melts everywhere. Pop along to Portobello Market on Saturday and peruse the lovely produce – from cakes and jam, to soap and crafty gifts.

2.Look into the Looking Glass

The latest newcomer to Edinburgh’s coffee, cake and erm…book scene is Looking Glass Books – an independent book shop, which I hear sells a wicked coffee and sumptuous cakes from Lovecrumbs. I’ll certainly be investigating this place soon.

3.Skip along to Stockbridge Market

Get your hands on some perfect Sunday brunch sausages from this compact little market by the Water of Leith. An Artisan Coffee is sure to blow away any cobwebs from the night before.

4.Raise a glass

On Monday I’ll be joining some ale nutters…oh I mean enthusiasts, for an epic journey across Edinburgh taking in 10 of the best ale pubs including Dirty Dicks and Brewdog Bar. You can sign up for the event right…here.

5.Feeling Fyne

Fynefest takes place on the banks of stunning Loch Fyne and offers plenty of beer, food and entertainment to keep you busy all weekend. Try some of those famous Loch Fyne Oysters, washed down with some of Fyne Ales finest…

Oh yes! And a happy Jubilee to you, your Madge! I know she loves reading my blog.

What are your foodie plans for the weekend?