the day after...

And so Hard Rock Calling 2011 belongs to the past now... Seems such a long time ago when I booked my ticket to this festival, and now suddenly it's already over...

Oh what a day it was yesterday! Absolutely unforgettable, for many reasons! The greatest amongst them was Stevie Nicks' performance... seeing her live for the first time in my life (and maybe the last) gave me thrills! The concert was amazing, the crowd in Hyde Park seemed to be enchanted by the queen of rock'n'roll... I was singing, waving, clapping my hands and trying to take some pictures and videos in between...
It was also fantastic to meet A. and her fiance J. - after how many years? Finally an occasion to sit down (on the grass) and chat... in London, in Hyde Park, during the festival! Sometimes it takes music stars to bring old friends together :)

I think it was also the most sunny, and definitely the hottest day of the year so far... Our skin could feel it more than we were conscious about it... So when we were leaving, we could see ourselves totally pink!
Now I am putting another layer of after-sun cream and browsing the pictures for the tenth time I think... Sooo glad I was a part of this event! Don't regret any moment, and even though my skin is burnt, if I had a choice, I would do it all again!
Now I will try to pick some best pictures I managed to take and post them here...

So... that's the main stage in Hyde Park around noon time... Lucky us, we were sitting really close!

Stevie Nicks on the stage and on the big screen...

The queen of rock'n'roll!

Singing "Rhiannon"...

And "Dreams"...

And "Edge of seventeen"!

I love this woman... thank you Stevie!

The sun goes down and now it's time for Rod Stewart...

Surprise! Rod and Stevie singing together!

No frontiers

another rainy Sunday

I really don't know why they called the recent changes in our climate "global warming". I can't see any global warming at all! Rather the opposite - it's the middle of June and the weather is just as in March! Or maybe there is something wrong with this deadly cold island I live on? I should seriously start considering a move to a different one, a bit warmer and sunnier... I can't stand this...

What can I do on weekends like this? Yesterday I cleaned the whole flat, I went out to do some shopping, and in the evening I made banoffee pie - for the first time! I got the recipe from my friend J., after I tried her mini banoffee pies at work on our cake sale. They were delicious! I had to give it a go and made a pie by myself. Today we took it out of the fridge and apparently it tastes like "from a first class restaurant". This means I can cook a little :)

Today my back aches from all the heavy housework I did yesterday, and the extreme workout I had on Friday after work - we went for a Body Combat class for the first time! Lots of jumping, kicking and hitting (the air, of course), it was fun and definitely will go again... but right now I'm in pain. So I think I will try to relax in warm bed while it's cold, windy, rainy and generally ugly outside.

One pack of Hobnobs cookies crushed and mixed with melted butter and then placed in the tray...

Covered with condensed milk boiled for 2 hours, which gave beautifully looking toffee...

Then a layer of banana slices...

And in the end, whipping cream and some grated chocolate :)

rock'n'roll that tells a story

Who else can do it better?
"Angel" is one of my favourite rock'n'roll songs, and one of the favourite songs written by Stevie with Fleetwood Mac. Not like most of the new popular music mash, this piece really rocks - but that's an obvious thing. Not like most of the new songs' lyrics - this one, under simple words, hides deeper meaning.

Sometimes, the most beautiful things,
the most innocent things.
And many of those dreams, pass us by.
Keep passing me by.

You feel good,
I said it's funny that you understood.
I knew you would;
when you were good, you were very, very good.

So I close my eyes softly,
'till i become that part of the wind
that we all long for sometime, yeah.
And to those that I love, like a ghost through a fog
- like a charmed hour and a haunted song,
and the angel of my dreams.
Angel of my dreams.

(You said) You feel good,
I said it's funny that you understood.
I knew you would...
When you were good, baby,
you were very good.

I still look up, when you walk in the room.
I've the same wide eyes, now they tell the story.
I try not to reach out, when you turn 'round you say hello.
And we both pretend,
I'm no great pretender.

So I close my eyes softly,
'till i become that part of the wind
that we all long for sometime.
And to those that I love, like a ghost through a fog
- like a charmed hour and a haunted song
And the angel, angel of my dreams.

Angel of my dreams...

I still look up...

I try hard not to look up, yeah...

That girl was me, yeah...

Track a ghost through the fog, yeah...

A charmed hour and a haunted song...

Track a ghost through the fog, baby...

Oooh, you try hard...
But you'll never catch me - yeah...

success!

The charity cake sale brought us loads of home made sweetness, positive emotions and great amount of money raised for the good cause!
Here is a snapshot from just before the journey around the office :)

charity bake

Hmmm... looks like it's going to be about food... again!
But this time it's all for the good cause, not eating anything myself, just producing, creating, making... Which involves a bit of risk, since I have in the kitchen - as they say in my mother tongue - two left hands (you obviously will guess what this means!).
Anyway, I had the recipe and ingredients, I mixed all the stuff, warmed up the oven and here they go... Double-choccy mini muffins (or mega cupcakes if you prefer), with chocolate drops and a hint of cinnamon and ginger. Again they started growing in the oven straight away, but then became more round and flat - something like space ships ;) Well at least I know they don't have any artificial stuff added, it's all natural products, checked and prepared by myself :)
Tomorrow is the big day - the cake sale at work for our charity event, the skydive for National Childbirth Trust. I got some balloons to decorate the cakey trolley. Hope we will raise A LOT :)

Rainbow in the kitchen ;)

The magical mixture...

Growing...

Ready to go (to eat!) muffins are waiting in the box to be taken on the sale tomorrow morning :)