Christmas Day Dinner at The Malta Inn

It seems that going out for a meal on Christmas Day is becoming quite a popular thing to do now. Years ago, my husband and I spent a few Christmas Days in a restaurant for our dinner instead of cooking ourselves, and there would be hardly anyone else there, even before Covid. We even had funny looks when we told people we went out for dinner on Christmas Day.

This year, we took my mum and my in-laws to The Malta Inn near Maidstone for Christmas Day dinner and it was packed. I couldn’t believe how many people were there to have their dinner but when you weigh up the pros and cons, eating out always wins. And when we said to people that we would be dinning out, they all said "don't blame you, saves a lot of trouble". It's crazy how people's opinions have changed in a matter of years.

The staff were so well organised that we got our starters before we got our drinks. The starters were prawn cocktails for 4 of us, my mum had garlic bread that came out in the shape of a tree....I think lol.

The mains for my in-laws were beef, my mum had turkey, and me and Sean had steak. I couldn't believe how much steak we had on our plates, there was so much and they were all cooked perfectly. My poor in-laws had so much on their plates that they couldn't finish what was on their plates. Everyone said the food was delicious but there was too much of it.

For desserts, my in-laws had crumble, which they only had a few mouthfuls of because they were fit to burst, Sean had a cheese board, I had chocolate profiteroles and mum had a strawberry sundae. 

Dinner at The Malta Inn was £65.95 per person, which is a lot, but when you have to think about the time it takes to put all of that together, to do the shopping, the prep, the actual cooking, the washing up, etc, £65.95 per person soon looks very tempting. 

The was only a few things that did annoy me, one was that I had written on our order form that none of us wanted avocado in our prawn cocktails but there was still avocado. Lucky enough, it was just a little bit so some of us just eat it and some picked it out. I don’t like the taste of it so picked it out. 

Album Review - RØRY - Restoration

This is the latest release from Rory and it is an amazing album. There is a lot of deep emotions that you can really feel as you listen to the songs. You can tell she has been through a lot and it writing songs for people to relate to and know that there is hope for them.

If pain could talk, what would it say

This song feels like it sets the tone for the whole album, if you close your eyes, you can see Rory screaming "LOOK ME IN THE FACE" into your face to make sure you are paying attention. We hear you Rory.

In the Bible

I love this song, it's a great song to bring people hope. The lyrics I love the most are "Everything you lost will be restored", it touches on mental health and that when you are at your lowest, you can still pull through.

When asked about the song, Rory said"'In the Bible' is my way of reconciling my disdain for organised religion, and my reverence for the faith that saved me—it's about finding hope in the darkest of places, believing in the power of restoration, and turning brokenness into something beautiful”.

Wolves

Loved this song from the first time I heard it. Rory's voice is quite angelic on this track, you can feel her pain, it's like she is pouring all of her emotions into you through the lyrics. It's a song that I can see people singing at the top of their lungs to when it's played live.

Hold on (ft. Roxanne Emery)

This is a good song but it's not one that I would pick to put in a playlist, I feel I would only listen to it again if I was listening to the album. It has strong lyrics but I just couldn't get into it.

Blossom

This one has a fantastic beat and rhythm through it, it's verses have beautiful harmonies and then you get the chorus which is where the bet picks up. Even though it is a little slow in places, it still has you moving. This is a brilliant come back song, the lyrics say about her feeling choked and didn't think she would make it but they are all going to watch her "blossom" now.

Sherlock Holmes

I love this song, it starts off as an acoustic song and then more instruments come in but they blend beautifully with Rory's voice. I would love to see this one performed live as I can see everyone in the venue holding up a light and swaying to this one. It would look spectacular.

One Drink Away

This is a lovely song but it made me sad. You know that the lyrics are straight from Rory's heart about her alcohol addiction. I have never been in that position so I can only imagine how hard it is for someone constantly battling with an addiction. She sings about how great her life is now but how she is only one drink away from losing it.

Morality $uicide

If you needed a song to remind you how shit we are to each other and our planet, this is it. Talking about finding oil but not a cure for cancer, the government, war being a universal language, people starving, profit in disasters. Don't get me wrong, it is a great song, I love the levels of the song. The verses are a bit quieter so you can hear Rory reel off the issues and then the chorus is louder to bring the punch to the song.

Sorry I'm Late

I really like this one, I think it is really relatable for people. Not everyone is perfect, we do fuck up, we do things that we regret and we feel crap about it. We end up feeling like we are late to the party or that we are too old to be able to start something new, and the truth is that we aren't. It's never too late. no matter what anyone says.

The Atheist

A very chilled way to finish the album, although it is a sad song about a life being destroyed by another person, I take it she was drawing from her own experience for this one. But there is this slight sign of hope because she turned it around when she found faith. I love the dramatic parts of this song, the band turning it up to 11 and Rory belting out the lyrics so you feel every word deep down.

****Originally posted on my music blog Suzy's Musical World

6 Months Into My 40s

 

So, being 40 still feels weird. I’m far from feeling 40, especially when I got IDed for a bottle of vodka just before Christmas and the woman laughed when I showed her my ID. I took it as a compliment as I haven’t been asked for ID in years and the age to buy alcohol is 25 lol.

Most people don’t believe me when I tell them I’m 40 but I think that’s because I don’t act my age.

You see, I don't mind birthdays, they are an awesome excuse to get your friends and family together that you haven't seen for a while and have a fun time. I just don't like the ageing part, the idea of getting older when I still feel 25 messes with my brain. And the odd comment from boring people telling me to act my age or saying "aren't you a bit old to be doing that?" And what is my reply?.......F*CK NO!!

I find that celebrating my birthdays by doing something special normally softens the blow a little bit. For my 40th, I went to Brighton with some of my gal pals for a weekend of fun and cocktails. Then I went out for the day with Sean in Whitstable. I loved it all because people taking time out of their lives to spend it with me was the best present I could have from them. Especially as Roxxi had to spend 5 hours on trains to get there.

One thing I have noticed that has changed now that I'm 40 is that people don't ask when I'm going to have kids anymore. To clarify, Sean and I don't want children, we are quite happy as we are and I am just too immature to be a mum. We are quite happy being aunty Suzy and uncle Sean who take out our nieces and nephew for awesome days out, feed them sweets and then give them back to the parents. I used to get asked all the time "when are you going to have kids?", that turned into "it's still not too late to have kids" and now, nothing. Love it!

I think that what does help me being 40 is that I have friends who are around the same age as me and they are on the same page as me about things. We like following our favourite bands on tour, we are happy not having kids and we can't be bothered with dramas. It's a simple life and we love it lol.

I'm 6 months away from being 41 which means I will be well and truly into my 40s, and I don't know how I feel about that just yet. When I think about it, my minds sort of goes blank, it's like my brain blocks it out.

Let's see how the next 6 months go shall we? 😉

Bring On 2025

Ok, so first post of the year and I was thinking of actually sitting myself some goals that are reachable instead of the usual ones about losing weight. Yes I know I could do with losing weight but I like my food and I have no enthusiasm for exercise so let’s not kid ourselves lol.

My motto this year is going to be……If you don’t ask, you don’t get. So I am going to apply to every gig and festival that I like the look of to get a media or photo pass. There were too many times last year that I didn’t apply because I was too worried about being rejected. I got some amazing pictures last year at the festivals that I did work at and with every gig or festival I do, my photography skills get better and better. I mean, what’s the worse that can happen? I already have 1 festival that I know I will be working in 2025, I have my fingers crossed for 2 others and there is 1 in Germany that I have applied to.

I want to do more travelling as well, I don’t even care if it’s in the UK, as long it’s places that I have never been before so that I can properly explore them. And take loads of pictures along the way lol. I’m thinking of lots of little weekends away with Sean just to go on little adventures. I want to go away for Christmas but somewhere I can drive to in the UK or Europe, suggestions will be welcome.

I would really like to spend more time with the people that mean the most to me. I have some amazing friends that live far away from me so I only see them a few times a year if I’m lucky, I’d like to see them more where possible.

I think they are all things that I could stick to quite easily, what about you? Comment below and tell me what your goals are for this year.