Bank Holiday Friday was spent building our new bed. Sorry William and Catherine - I'm sure the ceremony was wonderful, but getting the leather frame together took a while (but was well rewarding - it smells FABULOUS.)
It's SO big I can't take a decent picture of it; I had to put the phone flat against the wall to get most of it in focus! So big in fact that it even baffled the usually unobservant Tsam. He spent a good ten minutes just sitting at the foot end, looking up at the rolled curlicue top, with his head all wonky and dinked. Hyphen nearly threw herself off the side by accident - long bed, long run - forgot to slow down before she shot over the edge!
I gotta say though, it's worth every single penny. I woke up this morning and not a single joint popped, clunked or did anything. I slept like a log! Though I have to laugh, rolling over in it is a bit of a job - because as it moulds to your shape, you have to pull yourself out of the trench and balance on the edge of it until it conforms to your new shape.
Understatement of the Day: "It is a good bed." - HL.
The sticky toffee pyramid 
The Apricot Creme Fraiche had a similar problem with the flavour being lost somewhere - it was perfumed with apricot rather than flavoured I found but, again, the centre was fantastic. It had a silky-milky, creamy texture and the shell had a satisfying "pop!" thanks to the layers of dark chocolate. That was sweet, dark, smooth and refined. His Lordship was disappointed by the subtle flavour: "not poncey enough to think such things like 'scented'. But then again I'm not about to spit it out - that's my man-review of it". The only aftertaste is of sweet dark cocoa - but not at all powdery.
The cherry cup smells very dark. It looks fabulous with a shiny, dark chocolate cup, and a fleck of gold leaf in the middle of the deep, dark red cap. Initially it has a harsh dark taste, bordering on bitter, though I suspect the cap to be coloured white choc - it's a little floury. The core begins with a subtle scent, a slight coarseness to ganache (which was nice!) - and then a well rounded cherry comes storming in a bit late and settles into cherry brandy finish. It's a bit intense - in fact I'd say it was sulking! His Lordship isn't keen because it's a "bit too much" and again, I have to agree with him, because I'd like to see a summer version of this; something lighter, perhaps milk chocolate based with a slightly sour, sweet and perky cherry flavour.
The orange cup surprised me, as there's no scent at all through the chocolate shell. The orange flavour in the shell is late and short, like a bad date - I want something subtle but longer lasting, especially as the candied orange peel in the dark chocolate cap gave it a nice sweet orange flash... But then, sadly, it's quickly overwhelmed by the darkness, like a match struck at midnight, which is a bit of a shame.
