Charis Anwyn

Lutapolii – the white dragon

So before we begin, I’m just going to say it. I am a HUGE fantasy/mythology fan. I can’t get ENOUGH of the stuff, so you can be sure if I see a book, where a dragon is the main character, I’m going to buy it, no questions asked. So imagine my joy when I got a facebook advert telling me about this book.

Lutapolli is a nice enough book, but without much real plot line. Its like a little story that…

Crunchy Critters – Cricket Flour?!

Yep, you heard me. Cricket Flour. Its a thing, a genuine real life buy-able thing. I too was shocked but as someone who has kept reptiles for over a decade I thought, well I’ve had tanks of these little critters, listening to them chirp (even the silent ones) and after feeding them to my pets for so long I thought, you know what I want to try them too. So I have.

So the cricket flour is gluten,…

So, I followed them with my partner in tow, who did know where we were going but he hadnt told me either, because you know, surprise! We get off the bus at moor street and walk, no more than 5/10 minutes down Park street, turning left into Bordesley street. There you find the Polish drop in centre and right next to (well actually attached to that) is The Karczma, a restaurant based of a little cottage you might find in Poland and the feel of it is overwhelmingly friendly. Incredibly cozy, the furnishings are right up my street, I adore them, I’m even planning on when I get a house to base it off this. Sheepskins, dark woods, home trinkets and most importantly happy people.

Now I’ve never been to Poland its on my travel list of places I am eventually going to visit. A good rule of thumb I think of eating anywhere that is from a certain place within the world, is if people who come from that place eat there too. That for me, helps me distinguish between authentic food that people go to when they want to have something from home, like me being British and finding a place in France that does English dishes that really hits home rather than just being kinda sorta like it. Being here was like I had gone however, and I loved it. The staff were lovely, the restaurant wasn’t very noisy despite families being in there, which sounds harsh but children can raise noise levels, no the case here.

The food was exquisite and I’ve actually paid more for worse elsewhere [I wont point fingers today] the sizes were large, they filled you up and put a smile on your face, there’s no way you could eat this food and not be happy. It’s just that style of food. and the vodka selection! Oh my word is it amazing! I never usually like vodka, smirnoff, grey goose etc. Ugh no thanks they taste like acidic potato. These vodkas however! different flavours, different strengths and all of them were lovely, they had to have been else why would there have been around 16 shot glasses on our table, a group of people who usually don’t like vodka!

The other most humbling part of this restaurant is, when you go to the bathroom, its actually shared by the Polish Millennium house drop in center. outside you would have passed a statue on the building of the Virgin Mary and her child, and below a plaque in remembrance of the Polish Massacre at Katyn by the NVKD. The centre is a place for people to go to get help and make friends. The sense of community and help is admirable and you cant help but feel rather humbled by it.

I love this place, I will be going again for drinks, to do work and just to make friends because the staff are so lovely and it really does have just the most welcoming atmoshpere I haven’t really felt in some other restaurants I’ve been into. 10/10 would go again. If you want to read the menu or book a table etc, click here >  The karczma

If you’ve been on my Instagram, you may have seen me posting about this book. you may have read how I felt and how much i truly adored this book. Instagram however doesn’t allow me the space to truly express how this book has moved me. or at least I don’t think it does.

The chalk pit by Elly Griffiths, is possibly one of the best books I’ve read in 2017. It might not be yours but it was mine. It…

So, I recently downloaded an app to my phone called Crumbs.This app allows you to have a mooch around a City that you may, or may not be familiar with and learn a little more about the city that your adventuring. What does this all mean!?! Well, imagine, you’ve booked a hotel in Birmingham UK, just a weekend trip as your going to adventure on-wards from there, well what do you do? You don’t know…

So, I recently downloaded an app to my phone called Crumbs.This app allows you to have a mooch around a City that you may, or may not be familiar with and learn a little more about the city that your adventuring. What does this all mean!?! Well, imagine, you’ve booked a hotel in Birmingham UK, just a weekend trip as your going to adventure on-wards from there, well what do you do? You don’t know…

Image from Bethesda

Ahh, how many hours I’ve spent running around the world that is Skyrim. If for whatever reason you don’t know what skyrim is, let me fill you in a little bit. Skyrim is an open world, role playing game for your console or computer. It has magic and fantasy, crime and heroics. Possibly one of the best games out there, but I am extremely biased.

Let me place you in the spot,…

I’m sorry, What!?

So I, like many other 24 year olds, enjoy a good Youtube binge. I recently watched one from Louise Pentland with Daniel Howell and Phil Lester. Thought it would be a nice little thing to watch before I headed to work. It was about pregnancy, and me not having many friends who have been pregnant, I know about as much about pregnancy as I can count my children. Zero. Nothing. Diddly squat. I know…