One Last Push at Salisbury Playhouse Review

One Last Push at Salisbury Playhouse Review
Photography by Craig Fuller


PRESS TICKETS

A play about childbirth... An interesting concept, huh? I never like to do too much research before watching a play in case of accidentally ruining it for myself, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this new comedy by Chris Chibnall when we took our seats in Salisbury Playhouse. The idea for this play was inspired by the story of Chibnall's youngest son's birth and is just one of his comedies based around big life events.

Set in Jen and Mark's new flat, the play focuses on the last few days before their first baby arrives. Like with anything, no matter how many books you've read, classes you've attended, or how hard you've tried to plan something, things never quite go smoothly...

With ongoing renovations, an estranged parent, a badger (yes, really), a parent live-streaming, and a deflating birthing pool in the mix, this certainly can't be considered a calm and tranquil setting for an ideal home birth.

The play is funny, littered with crude jokes and the acting is superb. With 3 of the cast members having appeared in Call the Midwife, 1 in Casualty, and 1 in Holby City it's fair to say that Jen (Laura Main) is in safe hands. Huge credit to the crew involved with this production, taking on hoses and leaking pools in live theatre is no mean feat. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our evening and would definitely recommend watching this play as part of its world premiere in Salisbury! One Last Push is running at Salisbury Playhouse from Thursday 15th February – Saturday 9th March and tickets start from just £13. 


Have you seen One Last Push yet?

Dick Whittington at Salisbury Playhouse Review
Dick Whittington at Salisbury Playhouse Review
Photo courtesy of The Other Richard

press tickets 

I'm happy to declare the festive season officially open, Elliot and I went to see the panto in Salisbury last night! Dick Whittington opened at the Salisbury Playhouse on Saturday 25th November and, having not been to the pantomime since I appeared on stage at our local ones many many years ago, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Wearing my best Lidl Christmas jumper (the only acceptable get up for an evening of panto), we headed to our seats totally unaware of what was to come...

And, spoiler, we were VERY pleasantly surprised. The cast was brilliant, the costumes were amazing and the dance numbers were a right hoot. Without ruining the story too much, Percy Rat was by far our favourite character, and his jokes were right up our street. Read: crude. 

With the bright colourful sets, costumes, and dances to entertain the youngsters and a healthy dose of adult humour sprinkled in for good measure, this truly is a good evening out for all the family. 

Elliot and I went just the two of us and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. This panto certainly isn't just for kids. I mean, the lad's name is 'Dick', the jokes almost write themselves. 

Dame? Check. 'It's behind you'? Check. Audience singalong halfway through? Check. Actually funny jokes? Check. Brilliant cast? Check. This panto had it all and has definitely changed my perception of what a panto is like. 

If you've not, like me, been to the panto in years but want a joyful evening out, definitely check out Dick Whittington at Salisbury Playhouse this Christmas. We had a truly brilliant time and weren't the only ones there without children in tow! 

Incognito Winchester Review
Incognito Winchester Review
Incognito Winchester Review

Incognito Winchester Review

On Saturday night, we headed to Incognito in Winchester for the first time, and wow, what an experience. We were very kindly gifted an Incognito voucher for Christmas by Elliot's parents and I have never had cocktails that cool before, ever! 

Located behind a very nondescript door in Winchester, Incognito is a heavily themed cocktail bar with theatrical cocktails. Based around the story of Chadwick Smithfield, a man who has the head of a cat and has travelled the world, the cocktails all have their own individual themes and stories. 

The bar itself has a 1920s vibe and I would highly advise booking, we had to book our slot weeks in advance! Four of us visited and had two cocktails each, meaning we managed to sample a fair proportion of the menu. From rum to vodka to gin to Aperol, the cocktail menu is full of lots of different choices suited to different tastebuds. They also have soft drinks, beers and mocktails if that's more your thing.

I had the 'Along For The Ride' and the 'Turtle Island' and I thoroughly enjoyed both. In terms of presentation and interactivity, of the ones we had, 'Candyman', 'Along For The Ride', 'Mr Chow' and 'Fullproof' were by far the best. 'Turtle Island' and 'Escargot' whilst tasty, didn't quite have the wow factor or experience as some of the others. 

With the service charge included the cocktails work out at about £19 each, so I'd definitely recommend going for the more theatrical ones so as to get the full experience! 

If you've not been before and don't mind paying a bit more for a unique night out, I'd definitely recommend visiting Incognito Winchester!

The Girl On The Train at Salisbury Playhouse Review


The Girl On The Train at Salisbury Playhouse Review
Photography by Ellie Kurttz 

PRESS TICKETS 

Okay, so, strong words incoming, but I think this might be the best thing I've ever seen at The Salisbury Playhouse. Now, that probably should have had a major spoiler alert as it removes any sort of intrigue involved in this review, but, if you've found this post and it's not too late, GO AND SEE IT! 

I've been fortunate enough to be invited along to see a lot of theatre productions in the last year or so, and whilst I'm by no means any sort of professional critic, I thought this was truly brilliant. 

I'd previously read the book and seen the film (admittedly, both many years ago now) and thought that this adaptation was fantastic. I loved the set and how each of the scenes changed, and the cast was incredible. Rachel, played by Joanna van Kampen, who was also in How The Other Half Loves, was outstanding. She spoke solidly for pretty much the entire running time of the show and I don't think anyone looked away from the set the entire time. 

In terms of production value, it didn't have the wow-factor of some of the other plays put on by Wiltshire Creative, but I think that is testament to the quality of the acting and storyline of this one. 

The Girl On The Train was tense, it was dramatic, it was everything I was expecting of a play depicting what ends up to be a pretty morbid story. The two hours absolutely flew by and I truly felt like I was a bystander watching it all play out in front of me. 

The Girl On The Train is playing at Salisbury Playhouse until Saturday 11th November and tickets start from only £13. 

Lina Stores, Bloomsberg Arcade, London Review
Lina Stores, Bloomsberg Arcade, London Review

Lina Stores, Bloomsberg Arcade, London Review

Lina Stores, Bloomsberg Arcade, London Review


A good few weeks ago now, Elliot and I had a very last-minute day out in London. We didn't have any major plans and were just keen to mooch around, eat some good food and then come back home again. Now, Lina Stores has been on my to-visit list for the longest time and this particular trip felt like the ideal time to try it. 

Now, the Bloomsberg Arcade restaurant (the one we visited) is the one that I've seen alllll over TikTok, so I knew if we were going to do it, we had to do it properly. That said, it's not in an area we usually go to, so if you're a day-tripper like me, it's not the most convenient. 


Lina Stores, Bloomsberg Arcade, London - Review

So, shall we start with the decor? I love. The restaurant is beautiful and I cannot get over that bar area, it's stunning! 


We just turned up on a Saturday lunchtime and there was absolutely no problem getting a table at all. So much so, in fact, I'm glad we actually didn't book a table. Just to note, there's a cancellation policy if you book a table online. It's £10 per person for no-shows and late cancellations charged to the card used when making the booking. 


Enough waffling... The food then. It was SO good. I had the 'Pappardelle con Ragù di Salsiccia di Agnello' which is pappardelle, lamb sausage ragù, cime di rapa, chilli and pecorino romano. It was delicious. I've genuinely never had a pasta dish with as much flavour as this one. Elliot had the chicken and mushroom ravioli and that was amazing too. The ravioli parcels were absolutely brimming with chicken breast and the sauce was incredible too. 


Not pictured, but I did also have a Limoncello Spritz which was great too. 


The only downfall of my visit to Lina Stores? The portion size. I know I tend to eat hearty portion sizes, especially when it comes to pasta, but I'm not sure this would have filled me up if I had had it for dinner. As a quick lunch, it was ideal. Are you meant to have more than one pasta dish? Is that the idea? Who knows... 


Finally, for anyone nosy like I am, we paid £47.25 total. We each had a pasta dish and a drink and there was a £5.25 service charge included in that too. 


Would I go again? Yes! Would I recommend a visit to Lina Stores if you haven't already been? Yes! 

Overherd Powdered Oat Milk Review

Overherd Powdered Oat Milk Review
Powdered Oat Milk... I can't say I've ever heard of it before. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm no stranger to oat milk itself. At my first marketing job, we exclusively had oat milk in the office, there was absolutely no dairy to be seen. I actually stopped buying oat milk this year (or all milk substitutes for that matter) as I found I just wasn't getting through it quickly enough, and unfortunately often ended up wasting it. 

So, when Overherd got in touch and asked to hear my thoughts on their powdered oat milk, I was very interested... Besides being able to just make the amount you need for a few days (and not committing to an entire carton) it's also handy just to have in the cupboard too. Elliot and I are often away over the weekends and there's nothing more disappointing getting back late on a Sunday evening to an empty fridge, aware that the working week is going to begin without a cup of tea in sight. 

Speaking of going away, how perfect is this for the campervan? Again, same problem. If/when we're off-grid and the sun isn't doing the solar panel any favours, without the electric fridge doing its thing, we're a little bit stumped. But, stocking a couple of scoops of this in the van ready? Sounds like a no brainer to me.

Overherd recommends making up the oat milk using one scoop of the powder per 200ml of water. I gave it a go in my tea but decided that two scoops was more my sort of thing. It tastes just like any branded oat milk you'd pour straight from a carton and only takes about 10 seconds to shake up. They recommend consuming it within 3 days, so that's one thing to bear in mind when making up a batch.

The bag I've got costs £6.99, and with my 'double-strength' preference, will make 2 litres of oat milk. Which, may not sound a lot, but as someone who only has it in their tea, will last me quite a while, especially with only needing to make a little at a time! 

So, the main question I suppose, why powdered oat milk? Well, according to their website, 'oat milk is 90% water'. So, by adding the water to the milk yourself means reduced packaging, reduced food waste, and a reduced carbon footprint. Wowzer. That's certainly something I can get behind. 

ps if you want to give it a try for yourself, the code: BECC15 gets you 15% off!

Are you an oat milk fan? Would you try a powdered oat milk?

Jeeves and Wooster Salisbury Playhouse Review

Jeeves and Wooster Salisbury Playhouse Review
(Production image taken by Marc Brenner)


On Tuesday evening, Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense had its press night at Salisbury Playhouse. Elliot and I were kindly invited along, and, if I'm totally honest, we had no idea what to expect. We knew it was a comedy but having not seen any of the series (in our defence it was aired before we were born), we didn't have any idea what the 115 minutes would ensue...


Now, I don't want to spoil the storyline too much, but the format is really clever and the show depicts a series of events that occur to Wooster with Jeeves by his side. If you've done any reading up on the production, you'll have noticed that the cast only consists of 3 actors... There are more than 3 characters in the production, so, I'll leave that one with you to work out. 


The set at first glance is really simple. Elliot and I both assumed it was going to stay as it was for the entire play. But, the way that it is adapted is SO clever. I think I've said this in every review of a Wiltshire Creative show so far, but the sets, logistics, and costumes are always amazing. 


Onto the storyline. If the ladies sat behind us are anything to go by, this is definitely a laugh-out-loud kinda show. I genuinely don't think they stopped laughing for more than a couple of minutes at a time. I can't say I was laugh out loud, belly-laughing the entire time in the same way they were, but it was certainly entertaining. 


This play, presented by Wiltshire Creative and Octagon Theatre Bolton, is showing from 01-23rd September in Salisbury and from 04-21st October in Bolton. Tickets for the Salisbury productions start from £13 and there are still plenty of tickets left if you're keen for some comedy. 


Have you seen Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense?

river bourne farm review
river bourne farm review
river bourne farm review

river bourne farm review
One drizzly Saturday we took my niece to River Bourne Farm. We were looking for something to do with an almost two-year-old and a dog, and besides a trip to the park, we weren't sure what else we could do. Been there, done that? Let me put you onto this farm. 

It's in Laverstock, about a 5 minute drive from Big Tesco, and is dog-friendly AND free! They've got a cafe as well as a wide range of animals. There are also nature walks around the grounds and you can buy feed for the animals too.

For a little morning out, we had a fab time. My niece loved every second of it and, as you can see, Murph seemed to enjoy himself too. The staff were really friendly and there are a wide range of animals to look at including donkeys and alpacas! 

It's open between 10am - 1pm every day and you just turn up, there is no need to book!


Have you ever been to River Bourne Farm?

Wild Deodorant Review

Wild Deodorant Review



I was recently gifted a Wild Deodorant as part of another campaign I was working on and was really intrigued to try it out.


I don't know about you, but I've only seen reviews on the two ends of the spectrum. 


Those who swear by it, and those who swear about it. 


Wild have really doubled down on their influencer marketing recently and I've seen a flurry of influencers talking about the deodorant, so, for me, it arrived on my doorstep at the perfect time. 


Let's see what all of this Instagram hype is about...


Before I tried it for the first time I posted about it on stories and the majority of the messages I received in response said 'good luck, you're going to stink' or something along those lines... 


Now, I wish I had something more positive to report, but I tried it out and yes, I was a little bit stinky. 


I gave it a go for a good two weeks, as a lot of people had said you need to give your body a chance to get used to it... Is this true? I'm not sure. But, it didn't help me. In fact, I think maybe two weeks is the timeline for going noseblind haha. 


In terms of the scent, I have the Pomegranate & Pink Peppercorn. It's quite pleasant but I've heard that the Coconut & Vanilla one is meant to be really nice. It's quite thick and a couple of times it balled up in my armpits, so that's always attractive.


Would I recommend Wild Deodorant? Not personally. But, if you see one on offer and want to try something new then why not? It's good for the planet and for your skin, and it might work for you! 


A Wild Deodorant case is £13 and a refill is £6. 


Have you tried a Wild Deodorant?

Paddleboarding Lessons in Poole Review

Paddleboarding Lessons in Poole Review
PR Invite

Anyone who knows me personally will know how much I love the water. Now, most of the time I'm in it swimming (rather than on it) but a couple of weeks ago I was invited to a group paddleboarding lesson in Poole with some of the Bournemouth Bloggers. For context, Elliot's family has a paddleboard so I have done it a couple of times and hence wasn't a *total* novice. That said, I certainly wasn't a professional and I would certainly use the phrase 'winging it' to describe my previous paddleboarding efforts. So, I was really excited to get stuck in and learn from the pros... 

Paddleboarding Lessons in Poole - Review 

We had our lesson with Shaka Surf who are based down at Branksome Dene in Poole. We were provided with all of the equipment we needed (wetsuits, boards, and paddles) so all we needed to take was our swimwear and a towel. 

The group lesson started off with a run into the sea to get wet and then a thorough warm-up and stretch on the beach. The guys then taught us the basics of paddleboarding: where to stand, how to paddle, the stages for standing up as well as how to be safe whilst in the water. It was then time for us to all get stuck in...

Now, I'll be honest, the sea was a little choppier than I was hoping for but I did manage to stand up a couple of times for about 8.2 seconds at a time! It was a real hoot and, as we were already wet, there was nothing to lose!

Once we'd all had sufficient time practising our paddleboarding we played some group games including a relay race in pairs (which AK and I actually won, woooo). They then brought out this huge paddleboard and the eight of us taking part in the session all had to stand on it at once. 

It was a really fun afternoon and the Shaka Surf team were all really friendly and helpful. They were also super knowledgeable too. 

Shaka Surf offers a range of paddleboarding sessions from one-to-one lessons to stag and hen dos, as well as surfing lessons when there are waves! A surfing lesson is on my list of things to do but I think that'll be one for when I'm down in Cornwall and the waves are a little more errr reliable.

Their paddleboarding lessons start from £45pp (for a group) and I'd definitely recommend! 


Have you ever had paddleboarding lessons?