Festival Essentials

The days are getting longer and festival season is just around the corner which excites me so much! My friends and I bought tickets to Global Gathering the other day and Bristol's Love Saves the Day is in just two weeks, so I thought it was about time we started thinking about what to pack for those field days and decided to put together a little Festival Essentials list for you all. I know half the fun of festivals is getting muddy and dancing, rain or shine, with a beer in hand, but there are a certain few luxuries I can't live without when I'm living outdoors. Carry on reading to see what I'll be packing this year...

Wellies: Goes without saying really. With thousands of people dancing in a field it's gunna get muddy whether there's rain or not. And let's face it, if there's one thing that completes any festival outfit it's a pair of wellies!

Phone Juice Pack: There's nothing more annoying than when your phone runs out of juice and you have no way of charging it, especially if you're using it to take all your photos. You can pick up a battery pack pretty cheap off Amazon these days so you'd be silly not to take one really.

Pac-a-Mac: Let's be realistic about this - it doesn't matter how good the weather man says it's going to be... we live in England, so unless you're lucky enough to get to a festival abroad this summer make sure you pack your mac! Cath Kidston do some seriously cute ones.

Body Spray: To keep you feeling and smelling fresh take a bottle of body spray. It'll be your shower in a bottle for those couple of days and Victoria's Secret do some really amazing smelling body mists that have serious lasting power.

Alcohol Pouches: Most festivals prohibit glass bottles to be carried onsite so stock up on some handy pouch containers for your drinks. Asda sell Eco-Refillable pouches of vodka for a reasonable price, which are much easier and lighter to pack than bottles.

Compact Mirror: An obvious but easily forgotten item that you will be so grateful for. I once went to a festival and was the only girl who had remembered to pack a mirror... needless to say I was very popular that weekend! 

Eye Mask: I know festivals aren't for sleeping but when you finally roll into your tent at 4am after a whole day/night of raving I'm sure you'll appreciate those extra hours once the sun has made its 6am appearance. 

Dry Shampoo: An absolute festival essential. It may not compare to a proper hair wash but it's a bloody good substitute to tidy you over til' you get home. 

Disposable Camera: If you don't want to take your  phone/camera then pop in a disposable to capture some of those memories. They aren't going to be the best quality but it's better than the risk of losing or water damaging your £200 camera...

Anti-Bac: Another festival staple that you shouldn't go without. It's one thing being dirty but it's another thing being unhygienic, especially after using those portaloos. Ew. 

Wet Wipes: Another attempt to make you feel fresh on those shower absent days. Also great for cleaning off the mud!

Loo Roll: Don't rely on those loos to supply you with the luxury of loo roll. There might be some in the first 10 minutes of the first day but after that you will be grateful you took your own!

I'm sure there are many more essentials that I have forgotten, so feel free to add them in the comment box below. 

Are you going to any festivals this summer?

Extra Gooey Chocolate Brownies

Dieters look away now. Because each bite of these indulgent slices of heaven contains enough naughtiness to send Gillian McKeith into a nervous breakdown. But are they worth it? Totally.

Now I’m a big fan of baking, and if there’s one treat from the dessert menu I can never resist, it’s a brownie. But for some reason every time I attempted to make a batch they would never compare to the perfect ‘crispy on top gooey in the middle’ ones from Starbucks. I’d always end up with a dryer cakey consistency, when what I was really craving was that melt in the mouth experience that’s so good you would happily discard all dreams of ever getting a Lucy Meck body, just for that 5 minutes of heaven. 

Anyway, after a lot of trial and error, I finally discovered the perfect recipe for my perfect brownie and my-oh-my were they gooey. So gooey in fact I could barely get my knife through them! 

So it’s goodbye lacklustre cakey brownies... hello new favourite recipe (and a couple of extra inches on the waistline!)

To make these oh-so-gooey brownies you will need:

• 150g unsalted butter
• 300g brown sugar
• 75g cocoa powder
• 150g plain flour
• 1 tsb bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 150g dark chocolate

1. In a saucepan, over a gentle heat, melt the butter. Then once melted add the sugar and stir until blended. 

2. In a separate bowl stir together all the dry ingredients. You can sieve them if you really want but I never bother.

3. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. 

4. Add the chocolate in chunks and stir, gazing lovingly into your chocolately potion until it’s all melted and smooth. (This is the time to have a final guilt-free taste before the eggs go in... although even the risk of food poisoning probably won’t put you off licking the bowl after you've tasted it). 

5. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together then add to your concoction. 

6. Combine quickly then salivate as you pour the mixture into a deep 25cm baking tray. 

7. Shove it into a 190 degree oven and cook for around 20 minutes. But do not, I repeat DO NOT overcook these badboys. Overcooking is the prime cause for dry cakey brownies. When you get them out the oven there should be a crispy layer covering the top but the rest may still seem a little runny. This is fine. They will be sticky enough to hold together after cooling.

8. Devour those beauties like there’s no tomorrow. And don’t feel bad about it. Be proud that you created something so delicious and congratulate yourself with a second helping!