Simple Easter Recipes

Easter Weekend may have just been and gone, but for many of us there’s another couple of weeks of Easter holiday left to make the most of and enjoy. Why not keep the Easter theme going with a few simple recipes you can whip up at home? Or perhaps some fun snacks to bring along to your next group picnic? 

A classic- Easter nests

A favoured treat this time of year, you can’t go wrong with a simple yet effective chocolate Easter nest. The important question is, of course, Cornflakes or Rice Krispies?

Ingredients: 

-  225g/8oz plain chocolate (or preferred kind), broken into squares

- 2 tbsp golden syrup

- 50g/2oz butter

- 75g/2 3/4oz cornflakes, or 100g Rice Krispies 

- Mini eggs to decorate 

Method:

1.     Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cakes

2.     Melt the chocolate in the microwaves on 30-second bursts or in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering hot water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water

3.     Add the butter and golden syrup until all melted, and stir until smooth

4.     Once all melted and combined, gently stir in the cornflakes or Rice Krispies until all of the cereal is covered in the chocolate mixture

5.     Divide the mixture between the cupcake cakes evenly and decorate with 3 mini eggs (or however many you fancy!)

6.     Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour until set, then enjoy!

Simple snacks for all

Here’s some super simple snacks which even the clueless in the kitchen can prepare! 

Crisp carrots

Really, you can use any orange-flavoured snack to fill your bags, so don’t feel you have to use what’s written below!

Ingredients:

- Cheesy crisps, such as Wotsits

- Green ribbon

- Clear cone-shaped bags

Method:

1.     Fill your bag with your crisps

2.     Tie it up at the top with the ribbon

3.     See, simple!

Jelly eggs

A time-saving sweet treat that you’ll feel proud you made yourself.

Ingredients:

- 12 jelly cubes/1 pack of your preferred flavour

- Handful of chopped up fruit, e.g., raspberries or strawberries

- ½ pint (285ml) boiling water

- ½ pint (285ml) cold water

- Egg-shaped jelly moulds

Method:

1.     Line the jelly moulds with a little of your chosen fruit

2.     Mix your jelly cubes in a jug with the boiling water until dissolved

3.     Add the cold water and stir again

4.     Pour the jelly mixture into the silicone moulds over the fruit, then leave to set in the fridge 

Cheesecake-stuffed eggs

A decadent treat that’ll make your Easter eggs a little more exciting than normal!

Ingredients:

- 4x ½ a 72g hollow chocolate Easter Egg

- 60g Digestive biscuits, crushed

- 45g melted unsalted butter

- 250g full fat mascarpone cheese

- 120g double cream

- 80g icing sugar

- 1tsp vanilla extract

- 100g mini eggs, crushed

Method:

1.     Mix the crushed digestive biscuits with the melted butter, then tip onto a lined baking tray and leave to chill for 15 minutes

2.     Beat the mascarpone, vanilla extract and icing sugar until nice and smooth

3.     Pour in the double cream into the mixture, and mix until fully combined, then set to one side. The mixture should be nice and thick in order to set properly

4.     Remove the chilled biscuit from the fridge, then crush into smaller crumbs

5.     Ass a tbsp of the biscuit mixture to each Easter eggs half

6.     Top the biscuit in the eggs with the cheesecake mixture and sprinkle with the crushed mini eggs as desired

7.     Allow the cheesecake filled eggs to set in the fridge for an hour at least, then tuck in!

(these are best served as made but can be kept for up to 3 days in the fridge)

One for the adults- Mini Egg martini

A bit of a sweet twist on a classic cocktail, this tipple will satisfy chocolate cravings and moments of thirst alike. Who says Easter treats have to just be for kids??

Ingredients:

- 25g Mini Eggs, can work with any type of mini chocolate egg as desired

- 1 tsp honey

- 25ml Crème de Cacao chocolate liqueur

- 25ml Baileys

- 50ml vodka

- Ice

Method:

1.     Crush the mini eggs either by putting them in a plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin or using a pestle and mortar. 

2.     Brush the rim of the martini glass with a little of the honey, then dip the glass into the crushed mini eggs so that they stick on. Then pop the glass in the fridge to set.

3.     Pour the Crème de Cacao, Baileys and vodka into a cocktail’s shaker with a handful of ice, shaking it until the outside of the shaker feels cold.

4.     Strain the cocktail concoction into your cold glass and serve.

We hope this blog post has given you some egg-cellent ideas so you can get cracking on with some simple yet effective Easter treats. If you end up making any of them, share them on your social media account and tag us: @_keepcardifflive, we’d love to see your creations!

Geoff Downes -An Interview with A Rockstar

Geoff Downes is an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer who gained fame as a member of the new wave group The Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and Supergroup Asia.

images with permission Geoff Downes Website©

I have been incredibly lucky to have conducted an interview with Mr Geoff Downes. Downes has become a worldwide Rockstar working as keyboardist and lyricist for bands such as ‘Asia’, ‘Yes’ and ‘The Buggles’ made even more famous by their hit ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ which was played on MTV.

In this unedited interview recorded from the video forum site ‘Zoom’; we discuss Geoff’s opinions on his bandmates, his favourite countries to visit whilst on tour, and how his work has been affected by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

Article by Phoebe Vaughan

All images with permission Geoff Downes Website©

Music as an encrypted message for freedom

All Images Subject To Copyright

"Grândola, vila morena, terra da fraternidade,o povo é que mais ordena, dentro de ti, ó cidade".

These were the words that started a path to freedom and the verses that began the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, 47 years ago. 

It was the song Grândola, Vila Morena, by José Afonso, forbidden by the dictatorial regime of Dr Antonio Oliveira Salazar, who ruled and suppressed the country since 1926. 

In the early hours of April 25th, 1974, the Portuguese people were in suspense, waiting to hear the two signals agreed upon by the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) to begin the uprising against the established power.

The first "alarm code", sounded at 10.55 pm on the 24th of April with the song that represented Portugal at the 1974 Eurovision festival, "E Depois do Adeus" by Paulo de Carvalho.

This song was transmitted by the journalist João Paulo Diniz from "Rádio Emissores Associados de Lisboa". 

On the following day, the long-awaited day of freedom, at 0h25, the military of the MFA occupied the studios of Rádio Clube Português and, through the radio, explained to the population that they wanted the country to be a democracy again, with elections and freedoms of all kinds, and songs that the dictatorship did not like, like Grândola Vila Morena, by Zeca Afonso, were put on the air. 

That was the second signal, indicating that the revolutionary military should occupy the strategic points of the country. 

In the following hours, the dictatorship collapsed, unfortunately with four deaths, and true, compared to other revolutions there were few deaths, although these deaths were committed by PIDE, police of the dictatorial state.

The Portuguese Revolution was with the aim of a peaceful revolution because all people create the same, FREEDOM! 

The Portuguese revolution just proves that music is something that connects us all and brought freedom to a country that was suffering and suppressed for a long time.

Francisco Diońisio Is a Portuguese Student Studying at USW Atrium, Cardiff, and a Valued Contributor to KCL.

Reggae singer, Aleighcia Scott to Release a New Album

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Aleighcia Scott is one of a slew of fresh, strong young female singers making a name for themselves on the Reggae scene. The Welsh singer has family roots in Trelawny, Jamaica.

She won the MMG 2017 Award for Best Reggaela Act, and has collaborated with Tarrus Riley, Julian Marley, Soul II Soul, Gyptian, and Professor Green

Despite the coronavirus restrictions and lockdown, Aleighcia managed to collaborate on a new album with music legend Rory Stonelove and is almost ready to release soon.

Image Subject To Copyright

On her latest single “I Want You”, the reggae star worked with Kongz, the bandleader and drummer for Protoje's In.Digg.Nation band and one of Jamaica's toughest producers emerging from the new wave.

The song mixes smooth, soulful vocals by Aleighcia Scott with drum and bass from Jamaica. Donald 'Danny Bassie' Dennis, Lamont 'Monty' Savory, and Paris Lamont Dennis are among the top-tier Jamaican musicians featured on the single.

Listen to the reporter, Charles Stylianou’s interview below to find out more:

KCL Blog - Boredom busters for Easter

The Easter holidays are just around the corner, leaving a lot of us with two or three weeks of time to fill.

You’d think after practising the art of entertaining ourselves for the past year we’d have mastered it, but as we know all too well activities can get repetitive and our originality with ideas starts to dwindle.

Here at Keep Cardiff Live, we’ve got a few of boredom busters that will help provide some inspiration for adults and kids alike.

Bringing the bar into your home

Since we have to wait until April 12th for bolted bar doors to swing open again, why not shake things up a bit by trying your hand at being a bartender? 

Creating your own cocktails, garnishes and favourite beverages can be simple. For example, using food that may normally go to waste, such as lemon peel or leftover herbs, as garnishes for your drink is a great way of saving food waste as well as adding extra oomph to your glass.

Or if you’re wanting to reduce the effort altogether, simply purchasing some ready-mixed drinks can help you bring the bar experience into your house still. 

If you have little ones who aren’t ready for an alcoholic tipple yet, you can still involve them by whipping up some mocktails. By simply using the right glass, you can dress up any drink. Throwing together some lemonade, orange juice and a dash of orange peel to garnish in a glass with a little straw can make them feel like a little grown up and make them part of the party. 

Easter egg hunts for all the family

Whilst chocolate eggs hidden around the house may keep the kids busy for a little while, it doesn’t mean you have to sit around with nothing to do. Yeah, you could get some chores done, but why not have a little bit of fun? 

If you have a fellow adult in the house, you could create an egg hunt for each other. Making the clues a little more difficult and perhaps hiding them out of young hands reach can still be fun and bring out the inner child in yourself (you may want to opt for a boozy egg for the edition).

Or if you want to partake in the children’s fun, you could create voucher eggs. As well as the obligatory chocolate, you could pop in a little token that has a personalised voucher from each of the family. Get everyone to write down some before the hunt, with things such as ‘one hug’, or ’10 minutes extra TV’, and then whoever picks that voucher gets to use it once. Hint, having a few chore vouchers for the kids may work in your favour. 

If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, then why not catch up with a friend over Zoom or a phone call? Maybe schedule the hunt for early morning so you get a cheeky lie-in? Or just put your earphones on and dance around to your favourite songs. 

Logging on to internet events

Whilst we may be fed up with staring at screens, there are always some great online events running for all ages. There’s most likely something for everyone, from health webinars to online book clubs and cook-a-longs, why not enter some topics into your search engine and see what pops up. Here’s a few events you can find over the next few weeks:

1. Dennis and Gnasher’s Big Bonanza at Kew Garden, Wednesday 31st March- Sunday 18th April 2021

2. An Introduction to Music Making, Wednesday 31st March, 6pm.

3. The Ultimate Easter Experience on Zoom, Thursday 1st April 2021, 4pm.

4. Easter Bingo, Saturday 3rd April 2021, 3pm.

5. National Trust Easter crafts guide

6. Livestream Rhiannon Giddens concert, Friday 16th April, 7pm.

Find more activities across several sites, with Eventbrite having a great selection especially and The List for musical events.

Get competitive

Whether you want to challenge your partner or friends to a fitness competition or add a competitive element to the kid’s chores, adding in little friendly competition can boost motivation and help get jobs done faster. 

Instead of keeping a chores chart, why not make it a challenge? Who can wash the greatest number of dishes in five minutes? Who can walk the dog the most a week? It can help entice kids to get the job done faster and maybe even add a little fun to mundane tasks. Or if you’re dreading the spring-cleaning, set yourself time challenges. Having a 5-minute timer per room helps you get on with the essentials and speeds up the tiresome task so you can put your feet up sooner. 

If you have a fitness tracker, connect with friends and see who can get to the top of the leader board. If you’re more musical, set a target for how many songs you want to learn how to play. Bit of a bookworm? Make your way through your reading list and challenge yourself to how many books you can finish by the end of Easter. Whatever your preferred activity, you can make anything a bit more competitive and a lot more fun. 

Check out Keep Cardiff Live…

Something that can help you get your musical fix this Easter is checking out the Keep Cardiff Live website! From interviews, podcasts, features and musical memories, there’s a little something for everyone. You could learn something new through one of our written features, discover a new artist by watching to our vlog cast, or enter a reminiscent mood reliving people’s first music memories.

Not only may you discover something new, but it may provide some inspiration or help you rediscover some classics you may have forgotten about.   

As you may have read in one of our previous blogs on wellbeing, there are plenty of other ways to help you take care of yourself and recharge your drained batteries over the Easter Weekend and holiday.

Why not have a look at our self-care suggestions to help you find some ‘me-time’ inspiration and incorporate some time for yourself amongst the chaos of daily life. 

Gareth Lewis Guitar Repair

Please check out our Tuition and Suppliers section, we will be updating the listing with more great Tutors,Shops and services soon.

Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon

March marks the anniversary of one of the greatest albums in music history, ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’, the eighth studio album by the legendary progressive rock band, Pink Floyd. 

Now 48 years old, The Dark Side Of The Moon is still as groundbreaking, bizarre, and iconic as it was when it was released, back on March 1st, 1973. 

Most of the album’s songs were based around former band member, Syd Barrett, and the mental health problems that he had suffered with before getting axed. Barrett had co-founded Pink Floyd but departed in 1968 and he was replaced by guitarist, David Gilmour. The group were deeply saddened that they had to let Syd go and they missed him greatly.

The hit album was recorded at the iconic, Abbey road studios, in London. Pink Floyd’s 1973 line-up consisted of David Gilmour (vocals and guitar), Roger waters (bass guitar) Nick mason (drums), and Richard Wright (Keyboard and vocals). Vocals from Clare Torry, a session singer and songwriter, are also featured, whilst Alan Parsons recorded the album and Chris Thomas mixed it. 

Pink Floyd created the album’s iconic sounds by using multi-track recording and experimenting with electronic sounds which were produced by synthesizers. 

This record ultimately would prove to be the one that would transform the band and give Pink Floyd its first taste of mainstream success. 

Tracks on the record such as, ‘Us and them’, ‘Money’, and ‘Time’, are all over 6 minutes long.

 All the songs on the vinyl, however, are all truly beautiful. When you listen to the album from beginning to end you embark on a rollercoaster ride of different sounds and emotions, 

Sounds of cashiers opening and coins jingling are present on Money and Time features sounds of clocks ticking and alarms ringing. Money represents greed, whilst Time is about the concept of time slipping by, without one realising it. 

My personal favourites include ‘Breathe (In The Air)’, ‘Brain damage’, and ‘Eclipse’, because I find them mesmerising. They certainly have a strong psychedelic feel to them, similar to earlier work from the Beatles, with the likes of ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’. 

The cover art is also legendary, the spectrums of light coming out of the prism, is  truly iconic and is easily one of the most recognisable album covers to this day. 

The Dark Side Of The Moon went on to sell 45 million copies worldwide and spent over 200 weeks on the Billboard top 200. 

Joe Strong

My First Music Memory

It was early Summer, 1972 and it must have been towards the end of my of my first year at Glantaf High School.  All of the pupils assembled for the end of year ‘School Concert’ in the main hall. 

I don’t remember any performance content, accept for one act on the bill. I don’t even remember the name of the act but I remember what a seminal moment it was for me.

As the curtains drew back, there, on stage was the first live band I had ever witnessed, remembered fondly, as the ‘school band’. We were, somewhat predictably, talking  ‘guitar, vocals, bass and (above all) in this case, drums.

I believe the drummer was from Gabalfa, or Llandaff North, and his name was Colin Ellaway.  Colin was slight of build and had fair hair.  To me, he was an awesome drummer, especially as he was the first one I’d seen live!

I’d guess that he was the star turn, as the band played songs that highlighted drumming. One of the tracks I remember them playing was Cozy Powell’s ‘Dance with the Devil’.  

However, it wasn’t that one that provoked my life-long obsession with music, it was a song that followed, later in the set. I jumped to me feet, shouted, cheered and probably screamed! ‘Sit down Johnson’, cried the teacher, to my left.  I was embarrassed but obliged.  ‘Yes, sir’. So what was the name of the pivotal act that initiated my love of music?  Well, this act had many hits but for obvious reasons, you never hear them on the radio these days.

It was The Glitter Band and the song was  ‘Rock And Roll, Parts 1 and 2’.  Since that day, I’ve spent a fortune on guitars, amps, PA systems and effects and been in a good number of bands.  That first school concert changed my life…