Mello Mello!

Mello Mello, Slater Street, Liverpool. L1.

I get the feeling sometimes of wanting to belong, silently and privately, slightly yerning for the community spirit that I was around before moving to Liverpool city which is cold in appearance but blooming with colour and culture. The diversity of the city is best seen at Mello Mello, Slater Street. A woman walks in the door, bike in tow and before she even has time to off load there are people welcoming her in, open armed and full of smiles. It has a style without having a style. Its laid back, mismatched and friendly just like your best friend’s or your cool aunty’s house.
  Having 3 piano’s set around the room is a temptation for every budding Mozart to express their talent as they walk past to the counter, its too tempting and hard to resist a little tinkle for even the most tone deaf of people. 
  At first glance it seems they need a huge money injection to paint the walls, make the repairs and stock the fridge but on closer inspection you realise that actually, in its own quirky way, it has a style in a class of its own. The ceiling adorned with crystal chandeliers, heavy purple drapes around the small raised stage, fair trade coffee bean bags drown the walls around the tea and coffee bar and neatly placed hippies in tiny nooks, like pieces of art work, rolling tobacco and drinking tea from tea pots.
  I cant help but wonder how a money injection would affect Mello Mello. Many Places work on this semi-basic level and sponsorship and cash totally ruin their appeal. For the selfishness of the patrons and their own private, happy-go-lucky community, we hope they stick to being the best at making people feel welcome and at home.
  The staff are great and seem relaxed and happy in their work. No matter how you are feeling or what emotion you want to suppress they are always happy to concoct you a special herbal tea, tailored to your needs, that is guaranteed to focus, relax or even gee you up for what the rest of the day will bring.
  At busy times, Mello Mello is a hive of activity, buzzing with enthusiasm and talent, with events including life drawing, live jazz, creative circus music nights and loose jams, its the perfect place to come if you’re new to the city and want to meet some new and interesting people.
  My introduction to Mello Mello has been unforgettable, just like Pringles! ‘once you pop you can’t stop’ and I know I won’t! So thanks Mello Mello, your unique and special cafe made me feel at home after my big move to the city and I hope you shine through for many others who shall (hopefully) follow.

Home made bread!

Preparation time 1-2 hours Cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour

Ingredients 200g/7oz whole milk, at room temperature 150ml/5½ fl oz water, at room temperature 2 tsp fresh yeast, crumbled 200g/7oz plain white flour 300g/10½oz strong white flour 50g/2oz millet flakes (optional) 1½ tsp fine sea salt olive oil, for greasing flour, for dusting Method 1. Place the milk and water into a bowl. Add the yeast and whisk gently until dissolved. 2. Place the flours, millet flakes (if using) and salt into a clean bowl and mix together well. 3. Add the milk, water and yeast solution and mix together until it starts to come together a sticky, cohesive dough, then cover and leave for ten minutes. 4. Grease your hands and a flat clean surface with olive oil. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for ten seconds, then form the dough into a smooth round ball. Wipe the bowl clean and grease with olive oil, then return the dough ball to the bowl and leave for a further ten minutes. 5. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead once more on the clean oiled surface. Shape again into a round smooth ball and return to rest in the bowl, covered, for one and a half hours in a warm (not hot) place. 6. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Shape each into a ball and leave, covered, on a flat, floured surface for five minutes. 7. Place a clean tea towel onto a large tray and dredge with flour, rubbing the flour into the cloth to ensure even coverage. 8. Place one ball onto a floured work surface. To shape the dough, pat it flat into an oval 15cm/6in front-to-back and slightly longer left-to-right. Take the left and right sides and fold them inwards, towards the centre, by 2cm/1in, to leave a triangular point at the top. Next take the point and fold it in towards the centre, pressing down firmly to seal. Rotate the dough 180 degrees and repeat the process. Then rotate the dough back to its original position. 9. If you are right-handed fold the dough in half towards you, starting at the right-hand end, sealing the dough with the heel of your right hand while holding and folding the dough with your left hand. Roll the shaped loaf on the work surface, pressing down slightly more with the heel of each hand to give the ends a gentle point. Lift the dough and place it seam-side-up on the tea towel. Finally fold and pull the tea towel up the sides of the loaf and fold over to cover. Leave to rise for one and a half hours, or until almost doubled in height. Repeat this process with the second ball of dough. 10. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. 11. Turn the two risen pieces of dough onto a flour-dusted baking sheet. Use a sharp knife to cut two or three slashes into the upper surface of each, then place into the oven to bake for 45 minutes, or until each loaf is a lovely golden brown.

Finding Neverland Review

Finding never land is a story that opens with the feeling of being in the most exquisite theatre ever to have been built, in the privacy of your own home curled up on the sofa. Due to this being a film it is very difficult to portray the grandeur a proscenium arch theatre but this film does it.

          It opens with the writer hiding behind a curtain watching his audience come in. You can almost feel his nerves building by the look in his eyes. Everyone in the audience looks stunning, the colours and materials in their clothes show that going to the theatre was and is a special occasion.

          Everyone remembers being a child and going to the theatre for the first time. The ornate carvings, the bright red seats, the ice cream lady in the interval, it was like stepping into another world. Only special productions earn the right to be performed in such a beautiful space to the innocent eyes and beaming smiles of its adoring audience. The production has to match the wow factor of the space so as it doesn’t become lost. Peter pan is such a show and being performed anywhere else would be a crime. For 2 hours this magical film comes to life, you follow the path of Peter pan’s writer, J.M Barrie played by Johnny Depp, to an enchanting world where Never Land was discovered.

You can bring the magic of the theatre to anyone, anywhere whether it be seen on a screen by me when I watched this film or into someone’s home with a private live performance adapted specially for the one person who missed it, as happens at the end of the film to the mother played by Kate Winslet. Space doesn’t make the performance but rather frames it to give it a particular feel.

          The way this film is directed, I feel, is one of a kind. He manages to take the viewers along the amazing ride, seeing the world through a child’s eyes and at the same time managing to address serious issues in the characters lives.

          There are many sub plots the director has to deal with but there are 3 in particular that must be played and addressed in an in-depth way. First of which is the heart ache and frustration of Peter Pan’s writer, J.M Barrie, being torn between what he feels and knows is right and what society tells him is right. A man as a nanny who’s actually a dog, A grand mother who inspires the character of a pirate with a metal hook for a hand, The sweetest mother in the world who’s very being forms Wendy Moira Angela Darling and a young boy called Peter, the most stubborn of all the brothers. who’s name was used to create one of the most iconic children’s characters of all time, Should someone be forced to compromised their creativity because of what people think? Second of which is the story of the relationship with the family who inspired J.M Barrie to compose the best play of his life and Thirdly the illness that takes over the boys mother which eventually leads to her death. The director and writer of Finding Never Land manage to portray all these sub plots but still maintained the sparkle, magic and imagination all the way through by clever camera angles and the use of special effects.

          In the story, when the play is finally performed, in the most perfect theatre, you have come so far with the story you feel a part of it. The directors decision to film close ups of the children in the audience laughing and clapping makes it all the more pleasant to watch because it brings back those memories of the being young and entering this brand new world called ‘The theatre’.

          When the mother dies its symbolised by walking deep into the wonderfully created world named Never Land where she’ll spend the rest of her days among the fairies, pirates and magical creatures created by the man who loved her dearly and truly. This heart felt ending helps the whole story come true with no harsh reality endings. This keeps the magic alive but still enables you to connect intensely with the basic sub plot of the mother and the boys who needed someone to give them hope and belief.

          Imagination is a precious thing that’s enables people to see and do anything they wish. As we age we loose this ability to escape. It helps us through hard times, lost times and in-between times and this film captures that completely allowing you to totally loose yourself and grow along with the characters as J.M Barrie Finds Never Land.

Hello world!

Hello World!

Bread has begun and welcomes you with open arms and a kiss on the cheek!

Hungry for more ….. I now I am, every day in fact! Hold your horses good things come to those who wait!

Bread x