Top gigs of 2016

It's that time of year again when I take a look back at some of my best gigs of the this year from near, wide and some abroad here's my top picks of the past twelve months:


8. Tiggs Da Author

I saw Tiggs at this year's Live At Leeds and his set was bursting with energy and was totally mesmerising. Read more here:

https://www.accentclothing.com/blog/accent-review-live-leeds/

7. Barns Courtney

This very intimate gig at the Oporto was way back in February. Barns has since gone onto being the support act for Tom Odell's U.S. tour.

https://www.accentclothing.com/blog/accent-review-barns-courtney/

6. Pixel Fix

I was very lucky to see Pixel Fix back in March as they have unfortunately since split *cries*

https://www.accentclothing.com/blog/accent-review-pixel-fix/

Fingers crossed that we'll hear the dreamy vocals of lead singer Marcus again soon.

5. Jake Isaac

It's been a 'long road' but I finally got to see Jake Isaac in March and it was everything that I had hoped for. Check out me review here:

https://www.accentclothing.com/blog/accent-review-jake-isaac/

4. Flawes

In September of this years Flawes signed a record deal with Red Bull and a month later guess who was at their first headline show!

3. King No One

Another act that I first stumbled across at LAL.

King No One are hugely popular both then and now as both times that I have been to see KNO the venues have been full to breaking point.

2. Tom Speight

Ok so I'll admit it I'm a sucker for folk music and Tom Speight is the perfect choice for no. 2 of my top gigs list.

https://adoremusicblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/04/tom-speight-gig-review/

1. Coasts

Top the leaderboard once again its the boys from Coasts. The question is which date to pick? I mean do I go for the Berlin or Hamburg gig when I followed them on part of their European tour (not stalkerish and weird at all...)

Or maybe I should for one closer to home like that time I took a hop, skip and jump down the M4 to Glasgow and we chanted 'Game Of Thrones' to the intro of 'Wolves'.

http://dinniethepooh.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/fangirling-hard.html

However my fave has to be the last date of their UK tour at the  Brudnell Social Club which amongst other highlights included a full on stage invasion. Mental

my gig top of choice is trending 

The Spiced Pear and Tim Bilton

From 2004- 2006 you would find me in the kitchens of Thomas Danby College (now part of the Leeds’ City College) every Saturday as part of the Junior Chef’s Academy. I worked my way through stages 1,2,3 and eventually achieved my NVQ Level 1 Food Preparation and Cooking ; all thanks to the guiding hand of Tim Bilton a.k.a Chef. 

After my time at the college I heard in passing that Tim had left to pursue his career and opened The Butchers’ Arms in Hepworth as well as appearing on The Great British Menu much to my excitement and tumultuous screaming of “OMG I know that guy!”

As part of my ’21 Things To Do Before I’m 21’ blog I was lucky enough to visit The Butcher’s Arms where I was fortunate enough to see Tim (or should I say Chef) again. You can read that blog here if you wanted to.

I heard through the grapevine the Tim had moved on and was now working at  the vintage tea rooms and bar; The Spiced Pear also in Hepworth. You can imagine therefore that it has always been a wish of mine to go there but until recently this wish was more like a dream your heart makes.

Yesterday, my birthday, I woke to bunny snuggles, presents and the news that I was going for a surprise afternoon tea. All I was told was that I should put on my vintage dress. Suitably intrigued I put on my glad-rags (The dress is from Lindy Bop in case you were wondering and set off on a magical mystery ride….

My sense of direction and all geographical knowledge is so appalling that even after looking at road signs I still had absolutely no idea where I was. After many winding roads we finally pulled up to the drive and the sign looked just a bit familiar. I had finally made it to The Spiced Pear! 

I may have shed a tear at this point.

With a warm and friendly welcome, glass of champagne and wishes of Happy Birthday my mother and I were led though to the vintage tea room complete with tea cup lights, magazine trimmings on the walls, retro style decor and oodles and oodles of gorgeous chins tea sets.

The ‘invention’ of Afternoon Tea can be credited to the Duchess of Bedford in the 19th century. After complaining of ‘a sinking feeling’ during the afternoon the Duchess was brought a selection of sandwiches and cakes for her to enjoy privately in her boudoir. Soon the Duchess of Bedford was inviting some of her closest friends for tea and this tradition escalated. 

For this reason I believe that Afternoon Tea has remained a largely female pastime and I often notice that tea rooms are often mostly filled with women whenever I go for Afternoon Tea. With this in mind I was delighted to see that The Spiced Pear offered a ‘Gentlemen’s Afternoon Tea’ which besides being ‘very Yorkshire’ offered a variety of savoury items which could be considered ‘more substantial’ than the traditional finger sandwiches and I was particularly taken with the Yorkshire Pudding with Butter Roast Turkey, Pork Pie with Balsamic Onion and Homemade Scotch Egg.

As well as ordering a Gentlemen’s Afternoon Tea we also went for the Festive Afternoon Tea which included the delightful Christmas Scone with a delicious hint of cardamon, mini since pies with melt-in-the-mouth pastry and a sumptuous collection of mini cakes including carrot, chocolate and fruit cake. 

We washed all of this down with Earl Grey tea and experienced a truly wonderful afternoon. I was particularly taken with the fact that we were given Pear Drops with our bill……because its The Spiced Pear.

Whilst sipping on our tea and discussing whether it was better to hold your tea cup with 2, 3 or four fingers or thoughts turned to Tim. ‘I wonder if he’s in today?’ I thought. 

Upon googling him to see whether or Tim was still working there our if he had moved on I was shocked to read this article from The Huddersfield Examiner. After an ongoing battle with cancer Tim has lost his taste buds and has been forced to resign as a chef. 

This truly heart breaking story was later clarified by the staff who told us that Tim is spending time at home with his family whilst continuing on with his battle.  

The Cancer Unit at Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield have been invaluable in their care for Tim and his family throughout his battle and Tim and Adele hope to offer their gratitude by raising money for the unit. A charity ball was held at Rudding Park in September and you can donate to their Just Giving page here , II know that I will. 

Festive Afternoon Tea at the Principal Hotel York

 Happy early Birthday to me! Today my sister and I took a trip to York to sample the new Festive Afternoon Tea at the recently renovated Principal hotel and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. 

The Garden Room where we were seated is a beautifully decorated drawing room with sweeping views of the Minster. I loved the festive decorations including the elaborately decorated mantelpieces, the ginger bread house spread accompanied by a train set and lots of Christmas trees. 

We toasted our champagne flutes and settled down to a tantalising trip for the taste buds. 

To start we dined on Jerusalem Artichoke veloute with white truffle oil, beetroot cured blini with Hendricks’ gin infused cucumber and the very delicious apricot, sage and bacon sausage roll. 

After a photographic interlude it was time the main event including a sumptuous array of sandwiches, scones and festive cakes!

Other highlights of the Principal festive afternoon tea included the apple chutney  in the Wensleydale cheese and chutney sandwiches as well as the cranberry and orange scones with clementine marmalade and clotted cream 

Prague part 4: The Magical Cavern and Kafka

On our last full day in Prague we went on a picnic! Petrin park in the shadow of Prague castle is a popular venue for dog walkers and garden enthusiasts alike as it is the venue of the botanical gardens. 

Petrin Tower

Communism personified

The hunger wall

The main attraction is nevertheless the 'Petrin Tower' which was built in the image of the Eiffel Tower in Paris but if you ask me it looks a bit more like the Blackpool tower. 

An artist lives on Petrin hill and will invite tourists into his home to see the gallery of work. Reon's art is fantastically bizarre from women with the heads of unicorns to fiery caves reminiscent of Mordor. 

We first heard about the 'Magical Cavern' at Plus and I was not disappointed by the awe-inspiring gallery and totally unique experience. 

The artist Reon Argondian left Czechoslovakia at the time that communism was at its height and set up a similar groto like cavern in France where he made quite a name for himself. Sadly this building burnt down so Reon moved back to his home down where his new lavishly decorated gallery is quite the hippie retreat and has even been visited by Led Zeppelin. 

Tea drinking is a ritual that I am rather partial too and to my delight we stumbled across Dodra Cajovna: a traditional tea room where the the finest teas in the world (not just in China) are served in ceremonial style. I loved how cool and relaxed the tea house was as well as the fact that we were able to sit on cushions on the floor and drink our tea in the traditional way made popular by the Chinese and Japanese. 

Chocoffee is a popular cafe mentioned by trip advisor and bloggers a like so I was super excited to find this little cafe tucked off Narodni street. Serving quite possibly the best hot chocolate in Prague and really rather scrumptious cream horns Chocoffee is definitely worth a visit for chocoholics. 

Frank Kafka may be one the most famous Pragueians and his works such as Metamorphosis and The Castle are popular reads the world over. The Kafka museum depicts Kafka's somewhat tragic life as he wandered through life as what seems like 'a lost soul.' The author died tragically in 1922 of tuberculosis. 

The statue of two men peeing outside the museum is a well known landmark and attracts many tourists to have a good giggle.  

Prague Part 3: Jews and Oppression

Today was moving day as we upgraded our modest abode at Plus for the much more swanky Marriott. 

Ouky Douky was our breakfast stop for the well known 'ham and cheese on a fried egg' before we continued on with our journey. We dropped our bags off at our new abode before venturing off to the Jewish quarter. 

I have been told that one of the things that I must do whilst in Prague is visit the Jewish museum. The 'museum' is however not just one building but actually a collection of synagogues and exhibitions including the Pinsky synagogue whose walls have been covered with the names of Prague Jews who were killed during WWII. Even more harrowing is the exhibition upstairs which shows the  pictures and artwork of children who were taken away from their families at Trezerin concentration camp.  I'm sorry I think I might have something in my eye.... 

Lunch was to be taken in 'Nase Maso' a little butchers shop where you buy and eat your meat all in the same place! 

I had three different types of sausages whilst my mother had the special of the day ; pork belly. The pork was cooked to perfection.

Nase Maso is a unique experience that is ideal for meat lovers yet as it is only a very small space you should try to go outside of peak times. 

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Prague Part 2: Prague Castle and all that

'Stop wandering round like a lost kitten' my mother said to me today. Well I'm sorry but I think that we are a just a little bit lost!

Rewind to this morning where we started the day with a swim to ease my aching limbs (lol) and a trip to a local cafe/bakery for coffee and cake. Yes I did have cake for breakfast....I'm on holiday so I'm allowed 😜

Prague castle is often described as being a bit like being like a village (or should I say town) all of its own and seeing as we spent nearly six hours there I can't really argue about that one. 

There are different tiers of tickets available to buy with each allowing for access to more galleries and buildings depending on the price. We chose the most expensive option at 350czk which meant that we had entry to the main castle buildings, the cathedral, basilica, 'story of Prague castle exhibition, art gallery, (we didn't do this one though - sorry) Rosenberg Palace exhibition and the Golden City. 

I particularly enjoyed seeing the cute, colourful cottages of the Golden city which would have housed many of the tradesmen working at the castle such as the seamstresses, goldsmiths and herbalist. 

The amazing architectural feat of the cathedral was another highlight of our castle trip. Work on the building began in 1344 and it wasn't actually completed until 1929! I mean talk about a work in progress. 

Walking back down the hill from the castle fortress and also after getting a bit lost too we eventually reached the John Lennon wall. If you, like me are wondering what exactly is the link between John Lennon and Prague I can honestly say that I don't really know however  his beliefs in peace and love were like a ray of sunshine to the down trodden people of communist Prague and John Lennon was seen as something like a hero. 

When JL was shot in 1980 a single picture of a Lily was painted on a wall in Prague's lesser town; a flower that signifies peace. This sparked other artists to also contribute and soon the Lennon wall as we know today was born. 

We spent the evening aboard a river cruise but alas as we had chosen the one hour option the boat didn't take us much further than the Charles Bridge and we had pretty much already walked the route multiple times.  

When I was looking up 'places to go to' in Prague the Dancing House kept cropping up. An architectural marvel built in 1996 the Dancing House looks like it is literally doing just that; dancing. The building is now a hotel and I'm kicking myself that we didn't stay there. Drat 

Coffee and books go together hand in hand here in Prague, much to my delight and one such cafe is 'The Globe.' We came here in the evening and whilst it had more of a restaurant/pub feel it was a good place to rest our weary heads, browse the books and as this establishment is American, catch up with what is going on with the election.