The Waiting Room

In any other circumstances, the words 'The Waiting Room' would make me shudder and think of bad and uncomfortable things. But in the sense of this fabulous restaurant, quite the opposite is true. In fact, it's one of my most favourite places to be in the world, and definitely my most favourite eating place!

I've been eating at The Waiting Room since I was 15 (so roughly 11 years) and we went for my vegetarian friend's 16th so she would have more than one option to choose from on a menu. From that night in June 1999, I was HOOKED. The dishes are amazing, the portions are generous and the service is friendly and prompt. If you're a meat eater like me, don't let the fact that it's a vegetarian restaurant put you off. You won't even notice.

The front part as you can see, is welcoming and homely and the decor is very eclectic. There is also a back area which is a conservatory which you can dine in and where events are set. Sundays usually are the setting for 'Waiting For Sunday' which features lots of different arts and music acts.

I could wax lyrical for hours about the merits of this place but I won't as the website can tell you much more. There are recipes and pictures and lots of lovely things there to further your interest. But take my word for it, you will not regret it if you do take the time to visit.

P.S. The Ice Cream and Butterscotch is to die for!

A-Levels - a true story.

I hope that for those of you receiving A-Level results today, it has been a positive day for you. If it hasn't, I promise it's not the end of the world. How do I know that? My results were RUBBISH.

Firstly, here's a bit of background. I was a good student at school and came out of my comprehensive school with a decent set of grades. However this was not the case the next couple of years as boys and parties became the dominating feature in my life and I got a bit carried away. Needless to say, I came out with a U, N, E and E. As you might have noticed, it spells UNEE (like Uni) but I thought I wasn't going to get a place there thanks to my mini disaster.

Moral: Although in a perfect world we would all get top marks, it's not a massive deal if we don't. I was offered a place at my local uni, Teesside University (which is a great uni AND Times Higher Education - University of the Year) doing a different course to the once I'd applied for but a place there nonetheless.

My route ended up being: HND Social Sciences and BSc Criminology. I squished them both into 4 years and ended up with a 2:1! So I feel I'm living proof that A-Levels are not the be-all-and-end-all.