Sziget 2013

I love music festivals.

I love how unlike the real world it is. No computers, just good company and your favourite bands.

I love how you can become best friends with people you pitch your tent next to, and how it feels like you've known them for years rather than a few days.

I love standing amongst thousands of people, echoing the lyrics of the headline act for the encore, and seeing the artists faces hearing all those people singing their song. It's moments like that when you realise how strange music is. How just a combination of sounds and words affect people's moods. They can cause euphoric moments, mosh pits or make people cry. Pretty special for just a bit of noise, really.

The Sziget Festival in Budapest is one of my favourite music festivals. It has all the charisma and quirkiness of Glastonbury, without the mud. You can wonder around in flip flops, go to their very own beach and soak up the sun whilst listening to your favourite acts. It's never over crowded, which means it's easy to make your way to the front of the main stage and the toilets are a lot nicer. Plus the price of booze and food is cheap on site. What's not to love?!

This year the line up included Biffy Clyro, Franz Ferdinand, Editors, The Fratellis, David Guetta, Empire of the Sun, Tame Impala, Chase and Status, Sebastian Ingrosso, Dizzee Rascal, and one of my favourite ever bands, BLUR.

Here are some of my highlights:


The Balloon Party

The Waterslide

Dad at Chase and Status. Yes, my Dad

Bumping into some uni friends for Kees Van Hondt. Dutch Band that cause a tree rave at any festival. Total Bonkers

Recovering at the chill out tent

Becoming the official Flag Bearer for Budapest Party Hostels

Meeting Santa. And superman!

The Colour Party

Blur

Turning into Hippies

David Guetta Closing show*

*Photo from Sziget Festival Official

The Luminarium

And all the rest...

If only everyday was a festival!

Now excuse me, whilst I detox my liver...

Lunchtime Pasta

I went to see Miles Kane on monday! He was great, if you haven't already heard of him, you can have a listen here. It was a late night, with a lot of moshing and so I wasn't looking forward to the early morning drive to work the next day.

Now I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of preparing lunches. Unless I'm super duper organised and do it the night before, I can never be bothered in the morning, and for the past few weeks I've taken in some pitta bread and just added some houmous. Which is fine, but not that exciting every single day.

Luckily for me, I went home this weekend and made use of all the fancy oils and herbs we have to make a great big bowl of pasta salad to eat during the week. I often do this during uni - cook a load of meals when I go home and box it up in some tupperware containers so I don't have to worry about cooking or spending much money on food, it's a win-win situation!

This recipe is an old favourite, and is taken from Jamie Oliver:

You will need:

250g conchigliette pasta (small shell pasta)
1 orange pepper
1 red pepper
1 packet cherry tomatoes (approx 250g)
1 packet black olives (approx 150g)
1/2 a cucumber
1 handful of fresh basil
1 handful of chives

For the dressing:

4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt & black pepper
a squeeze of lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic


Boil the pasta in a pan of salted water with the garlic cloves. Meanwhile, chop up all your vegetables and herbs - I find it much easier to chop the chives up using a pair of scissors.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it under cold water and remove the garlic cloves.

Make up your dressing, and add your garlic once it has been crushed. Then you just need to add your vegetables to the pasta, drizzle in your dressing and stir it all in.

For me this pasta tastes even better after a few days, just cling film it up or keep in some tupperware and you can enjoy a nice healthy lunch without any effort for the rest of the week! It's also great with barbeques, or as an addition to most summery dinners.

Enjoy!