Wanderings Lately :: November

November was a great month this year! It started with a sneaky little Christmas cheer, through firework fun and then circled back around the Christmas joy!

I seem to have exactly the same situation as last year as I enter December, in that I have a slew of merriment plans ahead. I'm excited to spend a second Christmas in my house and at my job. Plus we might get some snow this year!

Fireworks

This year on the 5th November a big group of us (housemates and friends) got tickets to the Southwark Park fireworks display - it's free but you have to apply for tickets. Despite the massive queues for mulled wine, it was good fun. The display didn't last as long as the ones I've been to in Victoria park, but it was still fun to watch. I had also picked up some sparklers in tesco that day so we all had a good time after the fireworks waving them around!

After the display we headed to our local pub (which I've never been to before) for food. It was really nice afterwards to just wander across the road back home!

Autumn Cooking

I had a lot to do with food this month - well really i have a lot to do with food every month - but I took photos of it this time! Firstly, I tried this recipe for sweet potato brownies (weird but not unpleasant) and I've also started make a quick but tasty and healthy recipe - basically roasting different veg and mixing with grains. It doubles as a decent evening meal and great left over for lunch the following day! The meal pictured was also all the more enjoyable due to the wine accompaniment!

Bikes

This month my bike woes worsened, as it just kept going wrong. When I bought my bike back in April 2015 I didn't really expect to be using it every day. But I have slowly come to rely on it more and more for getting about. I cycle to work most days, and often at weekends - depending on where I'm going. One evening in November I had plans with my brother for dinner at his house and to stay at his and cycle to work the following morning. It's pretty much the same distance from his to my work than it is from my house so it wasn't going to be much of a difference. 

My bike decided this was the perfect night for the chain to come off and wedge itself between the gear cogs and the wheel. Brilliant. It was so bad I couldn't move the wheel and I was effectively stuck. Big brother donned his cape and came to find me (so maybe it was good I was on the way to his!) the only way to free the chain was with brute force. 

Since then I've been into the local bike shop near work on three separate occasions. This is either because they haven't actually done the work I've asked for, or my bike has decided to break somewhere else! Definitely time to invest in a new bike! I could definitely do with an upgraded saddle as well (my bum can't take this current saddle much longer!)

Friends & Food

Yep, plenty of eating this month! First photo is of hotpot at Macey's. I don't think I have had hotpot since I left China so this was pretty enjoyable and it was nice to head out of the city to May's. 

Egg and avocado for breakfast at Chez frère. 

Eating dinner in an old tube carriage with my train buddy Mary.

and lastly plunging ourselves into a immersive theatre performance with food accompaniments in the Chambers of Flavour.

Work, work, work, work, work

the view from the loo...

In an attempt to recreate our staff outing from last year, we went out again on a team building/familiarisation visit at the end of November. This year we went to Shakespeare's Globe theatre, the View from the Shard and a whistle (whisper?) stop tour of St Pauls. We were also lucky that work also covered lunch at St George's Inn.

It's my turn to organise the next one so better get thinking of where to go!

Christmas Spirit

Bros before hoes... (and Santa only has one leg)

Starting with a fairly disappointing 'afternoon tea' (second picture), we ended November having put up or Christmas decorations (managed to coerce my housemates into doing it early this year!) Santa and Rudolf are hanging out on our living room coffee table. Santa is now disabled but he's not going to let anything stop him having a bauble! Ho ho ho!

::How was your November? Do you think it's too early for Christmas cheer? ::