Qype: Isle of Wight Festival in Newport

Newport - Arts & Entertainment - Festivals & Fairs - Arts & Entertainment - Events

Went to IOW 2007 and it was better than this year's festival. Having said that, this year was enjoyable enough. Really enjoyed Zutons, The Enemy, The Kooks, Jolene and the Jing Jang Jongs, Feeder and James. Iggy Pop was a revelation and hillarious to boot. Can't quite make up my mind about Sex Pistols. Ian Brown was shockingly bad. Pathetic.
We lucked out with the weather and the food stalls (if you look hard enough you can find some non-mainstream really tasty grub - had some fabulous jerk chicken from a little stall tucked away next to the Ray Ban tent) but we were incredibly unclucky with our 'neighbours' back at the campsite.
Next to us was a gang of about 15 people who can only be described as disgusting / horrifying. They had no respect for anything or anyone. They went 'on the rob' on day one and came back with a haul of other people's camping stuff, like folding chairs, wheelbarrows etc, and were constantly going round to other people asking 'have you got a beer for me then' or 'give us a fag mate, i know you got some' even though they had plenty of their own. On the first night one of them 'had a shit', as they delightfully put it, next to the tent. The next day, he scooped it up with a bat and flung it away from 'their area' with no regard to who or what it hit or where it landed. As long as it was away from them. The next day one of them slung a half eaten hamburger in the same way and it hit my friend in the face. They demanded one of us hand over our torch, even though we were using it, because 'he needed it' and when we declined, he threatened to take down our tents. I could go on and on. They were horrible and could have spoiled the whole weekend for us if we hadn't fought hard to ignore them and enjoy ourselves.
This year there seemed to be a 'nastier' element that last year. More cups and cans and plastic bottles being thrown around, more people being loud and disrespectful and doing what they wanted and to hell with everyone else, more yobbish behaviour.
This sounds really negative now! The festival was fab in lots and lots of ways and there were tens of thousands of people there having a really good time without making anyone elses life a misery! We saw some hilarious fancy dress outfits and costumes and witnessed some very 'special' dance moves and overall it was great.
Still. if i go next year, i'm going to be far more careful where i pitch my tent!

Check out my review of Isle of Wight Festival - I am Tommowinnie - on Qype

Qype: Strada Restaurant in Cardiff

Cardiff - Restaurants - Italian & Pizza

I rate this restaurant highly. Went there a couple of months ago on a Sunday afternoon after a hectic week and weekend and had the most chilled out, blissful time.
First off, the decor is great - modern but warm at the same time. There are great big lamps hanging from the ceiling giving off just the right amount of ambient light. The place isn't dark in any way, but it is what i call cwtchie!
There is a well balanced mix of large tables and small, allowing the place to cater effortlessly for couples or large parties. In fact, i have been there with my boyfriend and on a works night out when there was 11 of us and the service was of the same high standard both times.
On the subject of the staff, they are warm, smiley, funny, polite and know their stuff. They can advise on food and drink and on what compliments what without making you feel like a dumbo!
When i went with my boyfriend on that Sunday afternoon, the place was only half full and everyone seemed to be kicking back and chilling out over a glass of wine. being mainly a beer drinker, i decided to avoid my usual tipple and go for a red wine. After a quick chat with the waiter i chose a bottle of Italian red that was deep and fruity and a bit spicy and alltogether gorgeous (and i can't remember the name of it! Yikes - i'll have to come back later and update my review). My boyfriend never drinks wine, ever, but he polished off half of the bottle and would have ordered another one if i hadn't remembered it was a Sunday and we had work the next day!
On the subject of the food, i can clearly remember what i had. Carbonara. Boring you may say, but not for me, because i never order it. I usually go for the seafood option.
The carbonara was beautiful. Not too creamy, on a bed of rocket with fat shavings of parmesan and real parma ham draped over the top. It was really very very good.
As was my boyfriend's bolognese, i'm told.

Anyhoo, if you're in the bay and you fancy an Italian, give this place a go. I'd be very surprised if you regretted it.

Check out my review of Strada Restaurant - I am Tommowinnie - on Qype

Qype: Pica Pica in Cardiff

Cardiff - Restaurants - Mediterranean

Check this out - you can order a WHOLE chicken! Right, now that's out of the way i can tell you more about this interesting tapas bar right in the heart of Cardiff city centre. Set on Westgate Street, Pica Pica offers tasty tapas (whilst really scrummy, the portions are quite small, so if there's a big group of you, don't be afraid to order lots), good beers and wines and a very respectable cocktail list. The barstaff are quick and competant and the food is served promptly. It can get really busy at the weekend, so you may have to wait at the bar for a while and conversation can be a bit of a strain as the volume of chatter swells. The bar itself is cavernous, in that there are exposed brick arched ceilings and exposed brick walls. There are different seating options, like low slung coffee tables and leather sofas alongside more traditional dining type tables and booths.

Now, finally, back to the chicken. On the tapas menu there is the option to order a whole roast chicken, which comes with bread, a spicy salsa and a sharp knife! It's great fun to tuck in with your friends and fight over the wishbone (or the last bit of meat). Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Check out my review of Pica Pica - I am Tommowinnie - on Qype

Qype: Buffalo Bar in Cardiff

Cardiff - Pubs & Bars - Bars

For a great overview of Buffalo Bar, I refer you to Seren01's review. She sums it up really well. I will just add a couple of personal thoughts and observations:
* Secret garden - beautiful on a summer's evening and a great place to enjoy drinks al fresco with a group of mates or just you and your 'cariad'. Nice and quiet early on so you can get a seat and a bite to eat without too much hassle, the garden gets busy late at night and buzzes with great atmosphere.
* Cocktails - best in Cardiff in my opinion. They are £5 a pop, but the quality is excellent. The bar staff know their stuff and the end product is well worth the wait. The Bloody Mary is a revelation and the Mojito's are classic (see review of Milgi's for my concern on the nearing extinction of the classic version of the Mojito!)
* Upstairs – had a couple of fantastic nights dancing away up here (you can hire it for private functions, by the way). It’s intimate and the vibe is really good. Music is varied and diverse and DJs are funky and cool. Toilets flooded once though so girls with sandals were scuppered!
* Downstairs – décor is fantastically eclectic and the furniture is all miss-matched but blends really well. Even the salt and pepper pots are different on each table. It’s bloody freezing in the winter though. They need to turn the air-con off when the bar isn’t bursting at the seams because it can get quite unbearable between 5 and 8pm, especially if people are popping out for a ciggie and propping open the doors!
* Food – tasty stuff and reasonably priced. It arrives quite quickly too.

All in all, I really like this place.

Check out my review of Buffalo Bar - I am Tommowinnie - on Qype

Qype: Bar Cwtch in Cardiff

Cardiff - Pubs & Bars - Bars

Cwtch was a non-smoking bar waaaaaaaaaaaaay before the smoking ban came into place and has always done its own thing. Situated in Cardiff Bay, next door the the Ely Jenkins pub, you can get into Cwtch via the standard front entrance or you can go to the back door and enter via the Tardis! The seating area out the back is lovely too.

Cwtch is cosy (a little too cosy when it gets really busy) and friendly and has its own Pizza oven (the pizzas are something else in here). The owner loves music of all kinds and will often play requests. His iPod playlists are fab and you never quite know what's coming next.

Probably one of Cardiff's very few truly original bars and well worth a visit.

Check out my review of Bar Cwtch - I am Tommowinnie - on Qype

Tidy

Boo hoo hoo

Right then, about that crying at the most ridiculous things.


I don't know what's going on, but the older i get, the more stupid stuff makes me bawl like a baby. It certainly hasn't always be this way - as a child I refused to cry over ANYTHING (I was the only teenage girl in the cinema with dry eyes at the end of Ghost) but lately I don't only cry over spilt milk, but I cry if there's only one carton of milk left on the shelf and it doesn't have any milk buddies to keep it company (they'll be coming to take me away soon!).

Recently, my friends and I were serenaded by a guitarist and a harpist whilst on hols in Spain and I turned to my sister, said "that was so beautiful" and burst out crying.