Afon Mêl - Heather Mead

Regular readers at The Amazing Blog will know, we can’t resist trying a new tipple! If you like us, you thought that honey was something reserved just for your tea and toast, then think again...  Let us introduce you to a honey-based wine, which we found to be so delicious that it rivalled even our most favourite of dessert wines. We’re talking about Afon Mêl’s Heather Mead, whose outstanding pedigree won a 3-Star Great Taste Award in 2019.  You can also see here the video of the judges sampling their Heather Mead here.

Afon Mêl is a family-run honey farm, founded by the Cooper family in 1995 in Ceredigion, Wales. They produce five types of raw honey all which have a unique flavour from the wildflowers from the cwms (a steep-sided hollow) and hedgerows which surround their rural farm. Their bees particularly love the blossoms from sycamore, hawthorn, willow trees, as well as the heather, rosebay, willowherb, clover, blackberries and many more. From one of their special raw honey comes the distinctive flavours that give their Heather Mead its original and characteristic taste.

Mead is made by fermenting honey and water together, this beverage has long earned heritage brewed by monks through the middle ages, and it’s thought to be the oldest alcoholic beverage in the world. Also known as honey wine, mead has been around for millennia with mead makers, sometimes being called ‘mazers’.  The word honeymoon originates from the early tradition of the drink being given to newlyweds. Mead’s been expertly crafted for generations and is mainly responsible for making the Welsh famous and the process of making mead takes place over two year period in order to perfect. One of the key factors in making this beverage is to ferment it at ambient temperatures during the summer months allowing it to mature

Beautifully designed in a slim and elegant bottle, the Heather Mead elixir is golden in colour and fermented using their heather honey which gives a rich almost sherry-like finish.  It’s not a sweet as you might imagine, and they say that it has a slightly smoky taste from the heather. We found it easy to drink (perhaps a little too easy!) and it paired well with pudding or cheese.  Apart from the Heather Mead, Afon Mêl also produce a variety of other flavoured meads including the rather delicious sounding Welsh Chocolate Mead and  Welsh Raspberry Mead. If you’re interested in trying an exciting new tipple, then Heather Mead is for you. The Afon Mêl- Heather Mead is 13% Vol and available in four sizes; we tried the 37.5cl which retails for £11.50 here. We can’t recommend this enough and are certainly tempted to buy a few more bottles of their other Meads and raw honey too.

Friday Favourites for ideas for Mother’s Day

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, here at The Amazing Blog, we’ve rounded up a variety of unusual activities and gifts so that you can show your precious Mother just how much you care.

Why not play tourist for the day on Brigit Bakery’s Afternoon Tea Bus Tour This afternoon tea is a less formal and more fun than a traditional high tea. This tour will allow you both to experience central London via vintage Routemaster bus while sipping on a lovely cup of tea and snacking on an array of sandwiches, cakes and pastries. The tour lasts approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. Tickets can be purchased here for £45. Tours run daily with a 12:30 and 15:00 tour picking up near Trafalgar Square. The 12:00, 14:30, and 17:00 tours pick up at Victoria Coach Station.

Another fun activity to enjoy is a stained glass making class offered by The Indytute.  This class is a full-day workshop where you can create your very own piece of stained glass. This includes everything from soldering the lead, cutting the glass and designing the pattern. The class is led by Aimee McCulloch at her studio in Brixton, where she will teach you the traditional skills involved in this extraordinary craft. Snacks and coffee will be provided; however, it’s advised to bring your own lunch. The next class will be offered on 21 March, perfect for Mother’s Day. Tickets can be purchased here for £140.

Or perhaps find something to help your hard-working Mum unwind at the end of the day? We like the Heathcote and Ivory’s Pinks and Pear Blossom Bathing Flowers. This is one of seven different scents that they offer. This Bathing Flowers scent is fresh and fruity and features (as the name suggests) pink and white blossoms with notes of pear, bergamot and cedarwood. To use, simply tear five to six petals from a flower and scatter in a warm bath to enjoy delicately scented relaxing downtime. The 85g Bathing Flowers Boxes are available for £11 on Heath Cote & Ivory here.

Finally, you could also gift a set of Natural Wellness Boxes with their bi-monthly subscription. The Natural Wellness Box was created by Catherine, a mother of two who has a passion for all things wellness. She primarily designed her subscription box for those with interest in health and well-being but also for those that want to receive a well-deserved treat. All products featured in each box are vegan, cruelty-free and help to promote wellness from the inside out. As an example, this month’s box includes Fais Botanicals ‘Cleanse It’ Oil, Kri’s Awaken Active Eye Cream, Potion London’s ‘Eat Your Greens’ supplement and Raspberry Lemonade Kombucha from Remedy Kombucha, this is just to name a few! The Natural Wellness Box can be bought here. The box is sold each month individually for £37, or you can subscribe for six months for £100 or 12 months for £200. 

We hope that we’ve offered a little inspiration ahead of time for Mother’s Day and of course we realise that no gift or activity will ever do justice in expressing love and gratitude for a very special Mother.

Absolute Health - De-Stress Drops

Alas as humans, we’re not immune to negative feelings triggered by stress, tiredness or anxiety. Here at The Amazing Blog, we know those feelings only too well… Luckily, we were given by Absolute Health their De-Stress Drops which offer a little help here, with a formulation of blended of flower essences and 27% grape-based brandy. Flower essences are liquid extracts used to address a variety of issues ranging from well-being, soul development and mind-body health. They are part of an emerging field of energy medicine, which also includes homoeopathy.

Absolute Health was founded in Russia by Galina Boggis-Rolfe, a specialist in psychosomatic illness and stress-related issues. The De-Stress Drops feature a blend of red chestnut, oak, olive, hornbeam and lotus flower essences, and are free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. They are also suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

Red chestnut essence is for those who have selflessness, over concern for others, especially for close friends and family. Oak essence helps those workaholic type people who find it difficult to take necessary breaks. Hornbeam essence helps combat that Monday morning type feeling and helps sharpen inner liveliness. And the final essence, lotus flower offers divine inspiration and light as well as soothing emotional imbalances.

Absolute Health suggests their De-Stress Drops are most beneficial in situations such as prolonged stress, working overtime in crisis mode, caring for ill relatives, preparing for exams, or buying or selling a house. To consume, place four drops directly onto the tongue with a clean mouth (no caffeine or strongly flavoured food residue) or they can be dropped into a glass of water. These special drops come in a 10 ml bottle for £10 and can be purchased here. We just can’t wait to put these drops to the test the next time a stressful situation arises!

The Wine and Spirits Show

Like most people, here at The Amazing Blog, we love to unwind after a long day with a nice drink, and we’re so excited to expand our knowledge at The Wine and Spirits Show returning to London on the 3rd and 4th of April.

After two sold-out shows in 2019, attended by over 1500 people, The Wine and Spirits Show will be back at One Whitehall Palace this spring. The show will feature the best brands in wines and spirits as well as a beer zone, a gin and tonic bar and two free masterclasses on exciting topics, including champagne. Delicious food stands will also be featured at the event. We all know wine and cheese make an excellent pair, and Paxton & Whitfield, official cheese providers to the Queen, will be onsite to offer the perfect cheese pairing to your favourite wine or spirit.

The Wine Hall will highlight international producers, wine regions and wine merchants. The Wine Hall will also showcase award-winning wines judged by Masters of Wine in the prestigious Global Masters competitions. 

The other hall featured at the show, The Spirits Hall, will offer everything from gin and whiskey to tequila, rum and mezcal. Both halls include a New Products Zone showcasing popular wines and spirits launched within the last year, keeping attendees up to date with trends and new releases. Also included in the show is a Global Beer Zone where guests will have the chance to sample a wide variety of brews from every style produced all over the world.

Tickets can be purchased for £55.00 here. One Whitehall Palace is located at 1 Whitehall Ct, Westminster, London, SW1A 2EJ. Starting at 14.00 – 20.00 we’re looking forward to an afternoon of sipping some of the best vineyards and distilleries in the world!

The Other Art Fair 2020

The Other Art Fair is making its return to London later this month, with the first of three fairs here in the capital. This is a date always marked in the diary for  The Amazing Blog as we’re always thrilled to check out the new and emerging artists coming out of London’s art scene. The fair is presented by Saatchi Art and will be held at The Old Truman Brewery in Shoreditch from 19-22 March 2020.

The art fair features 129 independent artists whose works were handpicked by a selection committee of art world experts. Mediums such as paintings, photography, drawings and sculptures were judged on ability, potential, and accessibility by the committee, ensuring buyers receive value and quality in their investment pieces.

“Meadow Chaos” - Lee Herring, 2019

One of the artists featured in this year’s fair is Lee Herring. Herring uses a mixture of oils, spray paints, varnishes and acrylics to produce memory-based landscapes captured from travelling by rail up and down the country. Each piece is painted solely from memory to create pieces that are abstract and expressional.  His contemporary landscapes are colourful, textured and full of life. He captures snippets of colour and details as the scene is fleeting while on the rail. He describes his technique as an ‘evolution of a free-flowing, spontaneous process.’

“Single-use planet” Photography by Lexi Lane

Another featured artist is Lexi Laine. Laine is a freediving photographer who likes to create melancholic underwater images. The series of images on display at the fair are from a whimsical project she has been working on for the last year. She has created a visual narrative for the woman in the photos. In some scenes, she is swimming towards the light, suggesting she is travelling from one world to the next. In other images, she’s consumed in darkness as a representation ‘of vulnerability and a reminder of the incredible force of the water,’ said Laine. Laine does not use scuba equipment while photographing her subjects. She says she feels the most alive and in touch with herself as an artist when she is freediving.

The fair also features a various number of art-related programmes. One of those programmes being ‘The Calm Collective,’ an art-making session that brings artists and art lovers together to explore life issues, well-being and mental health through different mediums. Other programmes include a Kids Create art space, a tattoo booth by Sticks Not Stones and DJs from Soho Space playing music in the fair. Tickets for The Other Art Fair can be purchased ahead of time here for Friday-Sunday for £11.00. Tickets will also be sold at the door for £14.00. There are two Other Art Fairs in July and October so keep an eye open here for further details of dates and venues.