Post-Easter Foodie Reflecting

Ah Easter, the time for family and friends, chocolate, parties, chocolate, cleaning, chocolate, day trips, chocolate. Everyone eats a lot of chocolate don’t they? It’s not just me…

After finding out that I am intolerant to eggs and cow’s milk nearly two years ago my love of baking took a bit of a knock. I did try and make vegan cakes, biscuits, pancakes etc. but they just never seemed to work! However last Christmas I discovered a vegan coffee, chocolate cake recipe by Nigella and my faith was restored. This cake is flipping marvelous. It’s basically a cake shaped brownie but after so many baking failures I felt happy knowing that this Easter I would be able to bake a chocolate cake! AND happily eat the whole lot while my family turned their noses up at its so-called vegan healthiness. Which kind of brings me on to the point of this post. Have diets like vegan become confused with the word healthy? Don’t get me wrong, the vegan lifestyle can be very healthy if it is done properly – and it has ethical and environmental pros as well, I understand that. But there’s a lot of criticism towards ensuring that you get all the right vitamins, minerals, protein, calories, fats with the diet. Frankly that list is the same no matter what diet you have, be it meat-eating, veggie, pescatarian, vegan or whatever. If that’s the case can’t any diet be healthy if you eat a balance of all of them? Surely that’s what we should all be focusing on? Knowing what we need as humans to function well and how food can affect our bodies. And then trying to balance it with the knowledge that during Easter, Christmas, your birthday and on holiday (depending on how often you go on holiday) all rules go out the window.

With a world obsessed with social media and the posting of hyper-reality photos of our lives on it, we are more aware of the food we eat than ever before. I mean I love social media most of the time but I do sometimes find myself thinking if I ate the way super-models ate would I look like one? Is that at all possible?!? What is a happy and healthy food balance? Is exercise the key? Why am I so tired? They never look tired…I probably shouldn’t have drunk that much wine… or ate those chips… And STOP.

This Easter I discovered something that I believe can stop all this confusion and negativity. Because let’s be honest food is amazing, and I don’t think we should all try and brainwash ourselves into thinking its not.

So are you ready for this ground-breaking discovery of mine? – COOKING!

I know what you’re thinking, my god, she is a genius. Of course cooking is the answer!!

Unfortunately I don’t think that’s really what you’re thinking BUT I do think its worth a shout out. Cooking is the biggest secret to a healthy lifestyle that exists. Don’t get me wrong, I love a lunchtime meal-deal or baked beans on toast for dinner BUT the times when I eat food I’ve cooked are the evenings, lunches, breakfasts I feel the happiest. And for someone who has struggled with unknown intolerance for years happy eating is something I will never take for granted. It’s the reason why the diets like vegan, or clean-eating and these healthy eating gurus like Madeleine Shaw are becoming so popular. Because all they’re really doing is encouraging people to do is cook! And by cooking you’re aware of what you’re eating so much more! By taking time to prepare your meals, the satisfaction you get is soooo much better. Food should make you happy and I really believe cooking makes for a healthier you, inside and out.

Here are my top 3 Easter cooking ventures!

From the left: Potato Udon Noodles (Deliciously Ella), Prawn Linguine (a mixture of a few recipes), and My mum’s birthday Paella! (again made up of a few recipes).

Happy Easter All!

Emma

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NaSTA 2017

 

If anything was going to smack me in the face with the scary realisation that the media industry is hugely competitive and full of talented people then this weekend was definitely it. NaSTA, A.K.A The National Student Television Association has been around since 1964, and the NaSTA awards event dates back to 1973. I was literally speechless at the winners in Birmingham this year.  Despite only recently falling in love with and committing to the idea of working in TV I really think that I need to up my game!

The awards ceremony was only part of the weekend – something I’m quite thankful for due to the panic that ran through me watching the talent of others all evening. On Saturday I attended two BBC Academy workshops – an incredibly opportunity I am so happy I took! In the morning Deirdre Mulcahy took a Video/Mobile Journalism session. In two hours we were shown easy techniques using phone cameras to film really professional looking videos. Mulcahy was amazing! She was full of information and but delivered it to us in stages so I actually felt myself developing as a film-maker throughout the morning.

Mulcahy also totally changed my opinion on the genius invention that is the Selfie Stick. If I’m honest I always thought they were a bit cringe. But I couldn’t have been more wrong! They’re actually incredibly useful when filming using your phone and are so cheap. They allow the content you’re filming to stay steady and you can far more easily control the shot you want.

As the workshop came to an end Mulcahy set us a task. She told us to download the Quik app and edit a short film during our lunch break using everything that we had learnt that morning. It was really hard not to be too critical and shy about the filming I did. I never realised how much of a perfectionist I could be! But if I learnt anything from the weekend it was that making your own content is vital – It’s the perfect way of learning without having to worry about who its for! You really don’t need expensive equipment. You just need to go out and try.

Right now I cannot finish this post about NaSTA 2017 without mentioning Fiona Bruce’s unexpected but totally inspirational female empowerment speech. Fiona was presenting the best on screen female award but before doing so she announced to the room a very important observation she had made that evening. She noticed that when every mix gender group went to the stage to receive an award that evening, the guy spoke and the girl stood next to them saying nothing. Fiona’s outrage at this was so empowering! She demanded that woman need to take the lead and not let themselves be “pushed to the side.” The positive reaction by everyone in the room, I believe, proves the passion for gender equality amongst my generation. I was hugely proud to be part of that moment.

SO TO SUM UP…

Seeing the skills and talent of others should push you. It’s something that will be constant throughout your entire life and it is how you deal with the competition that will enable you to succeed in your goal. And finally being a woman should DEFINITELY NOT mean you are pushed to the side. Your voice is just as important and should be heard!

Emma Cleeve

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Can we call it spring yet?

I love this time of year!

When you finally wake up in the morning and it’s daylight – or close enough any way! There are days where it is sunny and you can actually feel the warmth of the sun. And there is a general optimism among everyone. 2017 we are ready for you!

In the last month I have secured two work experience placements in Manchester at production companies Blakeway North and Nine Lives Media for after I finish my degree! I also spent a day being a runner for a production assistant at BBC Sport who I met through a friend.

So all in all pretty productive!

While working with Amy from BBC Sport I was able to do a bit of filming with the BBC camera equipment! It was an Osmo camera? To any technology geeks I apologise for my ignorance! The camera basically senses movement and allows the footage to look incredibly smooth even when you’re moving around less than smoothly. It reminded me of something out of Star Wars. Anyway there were moments where I thought that I would pass out from the adrenaline because I had broken it or forgotten to press record but fortunately neither actually happened and I had a great day!

Saying “yes”

I feel like a lot of industry professionals… especially successful ones will say this is the key. The gold dust, the magic carpet, the – insert whatever cheesy metaphor you’ve heard or like to use. And it probably is. But that still doesn’t mean it’s easy. It’s not like they’re saying always wear a red shirt, so you go out and buy a red shirt, put it on and job done you’ve made it.

But saying yes is much harder. Mainly, I think, because you get opportunities before you’ve even realised what they are half the time!

The camera man that day said to me “would you like to try filming?” – Well that’s a pretty obvious one… But there have been so many missed opportunities I haven’t said yes too because I didn’t realise what they were quick enough!

Let me use an example to explain.

I went to the Woman in Media conference last weekend and it was amazing! There were so many inspiring successful woman in one place that I think I spent the entire weekend with a stupid grin on my face.

ANYWAY at one point during a workshop led by Kate Cocker, a very successful and award winning radio producer, Kate asked “who would like to stand up and tell the group their dream?”

At this point instead of saying “yes” or in this instance waving my hand in the air and shouting ME ME ME! I sat in my seat, quiet, thinking “Pffft I’m not going to tell a room full of strangers my very personal and embarrassing dream!”

But Kate then offered the only girl in the room to be brave enough to volunteer a half an hour, one to one, presenter coaching session! As well giving her the contacts she needed to help take the next step towards her career goals.

THESE ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES I AM TALKING ABOUT.

Now I don’t think I should beat myself up forever about not putting my hand up and being shy and coy about my future ambitions. That would be ridiculous. But I do think that experience and the entire weekend taught me a couple of things.

One: What actually is my dream? – It’s so important to have this because how else will people like Kate know how to help you?!

Two: Why would I be good at it? – If you don’t know what you are good at then you will never have any confidence in yourself to say yes to opportunities!

Three: Be supportive to others! – There is nothing wrong with sharing dreams and ambitions with other people it will only lead to more opportunities!

So there we go that’s my advice from what I’ve experienced so far! I think going to events like the Woman in Media Conference and pestering companies and contacts for work experience is really helping. I feel like you learn so much from a good balance of listening and doing and maybe one day I can read this back at this and laugh at how much a worried!

Happy spring everyone, go out there and dare to dream!

Emma

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“Final year goes very quickly.” – Tom Cleeve, Summer 2016.

On holiday last summer my brother Tom said to me “final year goes very quickly” and he was not lying! It is now the following February… FEBRUARY. I have 4 and a bit months left of my degree and I am half terrified, half cannot wait, for it to be over.

I am very good at motivating myself and I am an excellent planner. For my birthday this year my boyfriend brought me a Bullet Journal and I absolutely love spending my Sunday evenings planning my next week’s schedule. But I am referring to daily tasks like going for a swim, or writing a blog posts, or making sure I have a packed lunch or dinner for my day.

But motivating myself to trawl through grad-schemes, careers advice and job sites for my post-uni life I find incredibly hard because as much as I am organised and motivated I am also STRESSER.

THE FUTURE.

– it’s quite a big idea to handle isn’t it?

Yet that’s what is on the other side of graduation. We all try to play it cool and joke about it, but it’s really quite scary!

When I was 18 I had a plan. My plan was to go to Drama School and then become an actress. I auditioned during my A Levels and was unsuccessful so I took a gap year to prepare better and try again. That time I was extremely close to getting it. I was so ready, I had convinced myself I was going to get in and everything would fall into place.

And then I was punched in the gut with the rejection UCAS email. A UCAS EMAIL – cruel I know! Looking back now I still think my heard was broken that day. I cried for what felt like weeks.

Dramatic right? …How did I not get it?

ANYWAY 3 years later I have decided that acting, at the moment, is not the career for me. But I will admit that I have struggled working out what else I should therefore do. In all honesty I think I was also scared to let myself care that much just to be rejected again. All students hear now is the lack of jobs out there for us and it can feel so overwhelming trying to decide the right career for you.

I found myself going into your third year and thinking that actually I’d quite like a career that I cared about to support myself. So I asked for advice and stumbled across the TV industry and a career in production – a very competitive and popular career choice that requires a lot of persistence – ring any bells?

But this time I am ready for it. I think we are all searching for the job that we can wake up in the morning and want to actually go to. I know no one would ever say that they feel that every morning but I do think there is a distinct difference between a person who hates their job and someone who like it. I want to like mine and I believe so strongly that getting a job within the TV industry I will find it!

So on Wednesday 1^st February I went to the Royal Television Society’s Ultimate TV Careers Fair in London.

IT WAS AMAZING. All day there were talks by industry professionals about anything and everything you could be confused about when it comes to getting a job in TV. There was over 30 stalls from companies who explained passionately and clearly what trainee schemes, work experience or media platforms they offered. And there was a CV clinic where you could get one-on-one advice on your CV!

I would definitely recommend anyone who is thinking about a job in TV to go to the next one!

So to finish this – I hope encouraging – post. Caring is scary. The future is scary. But the two together and a little bit of planning can be a wonderful thing! It motivates you. Since the careers fair I have created two online profiles, re-worked my CV, followed a bunch of production companies on Twitter, and started a notepad dedicated to my ideas and thoughts about TV. Compared to about a month ago when I spent a weekend stumbling through random grad-schemes and job sites bored out of my mind!

We can do this final years! And if you’re not in your final year but you feel this way then don’t stress, take your time and find something you care about and go for it!

Emma

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“Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!”– Albert Einstein

This weekend has just been lovely! After a very stressful three weeks of university assignments I submitted all my work for the first semester of my third year on Wednesday. By Thursday lunchtime I was in my family living room eating beans on toast telling my mother about what an intense few weeks it had been.

“AND CHILL.”

There is so much pressure and stress around Uni at this time of year so leaving it to unwind and refuel at home was much needed!

Home for me is Newport, South Wales where my parents and older brother Tom live.

On Thursday evening we went to see The Kinks Musical, Sunny Afternoon at the Wales Millennium Centre. Tom and I brought the average age of the packed audience down quite dramatically. In fact I think we may have been some of the only people under the age of 45! A family trip organised by my Mum and Dad! The performance however was great! I like The Kinks, in fact there is a big yearning in me to have been this age in the 60s. It just seemed like a good time to be young.

I would definitely recommend this show, and as a family trip to the theatre it was perfect!

Friday night I was living the dream. As a treat for all four of us we dined at the Michelin Star Restaurant The Whitebrook in the Wye Valley. We ate the seven course menu with wine pairings and totally basked in the fancy food, and incredible hospitality. We ate pumpkin custard, pigeon, brill, venison, bacon foam… for a cooking programme addict like myself it was just heaven!

…Looking back it was more like 10 courses! They just kept bringing us food! It was magical.

The next day, feeling pretty fragile but after the nicest full Welsh breakfast I have ever had we set out for a seven mile walk to clear our heads and enjoy the beautiful scenery around us. The weather although absolutely freezing (I couldn’t feel my legs or hands by the end of it!) was glorious! It was so sunny and green! When living in Manchester you don’t get to see a lot of green! We talked and walked and talked and walked.

To be fair it has been my ideal weekend. I feel so fortunate to be able to spend that much time with those three and enjoy every minute of it. They are very important to me. If anything was to happen to them I would be devastated.

I don’t like to think about the future in that way often. But some times, and especially in the society we live in where health news and warnings feel like they are everywhere, its difficult not to.

I feel that now I should talk a bit about why I am doing this Cycle Ride for Breast Cancer Now in July.

“Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in the UK.”

For information about the Charity Breast Cancer Now and the illness visit:

http://breastcancernow.org/

Over 50,000 women and 350 men are diagnosed each year in the UK, as well as around 5,500 additional women are diagnosed with an earlier, non-invasive form of breast cancer.

“One in eight women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime.”

This statistics shocked me. Breast cancer has no specific cause. It is believed to be caused by a combination of genes, lifestyle choices and surrounding environment. It is scary and it rocks the strongest of characters.

I will be finishing my university degree this summer and my housemate of the entire three years, Jenni, came to me last semester telling me she wanted to take part in the Breast Cancer Now London to Paris bike ride. My dad had done this ride eight years ago and I almost instantly I knew I wanted to do it too.

My grandmother, his mother, Eileen Cleeve was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was in her sixties. Fortunately she was diagnosed early and made the painful but brave decision to have a mastectomy. She fought through it and was cured. My brother and I were too young to understand and my grandmother didn’t want us knowing for years. But my dad stayed with her for six weeks during her time in hospital, visiting her every day. Family support during that time is irreplaceable. Unfortunately my grandmother passed away three years ago but since being cured from breast cancer she was able to live a further twenty happy years and Tom and I were able to grow up with her in our lives. I am very grateful of this.

The work of charities like Breast Cancer Now is fighting to change the realities of this illness.

I will be doing more events in the next few months to reach my total and take on this challenge. But I wanted to post this after having such a wonderful weekend with my loving family, expressing how grateful I am that we are all at the moment healthy and happy. But for so many families across the UK I understand this is not the case and if I can do anything to prevent an illness like breast cancer that can have such devastating effects on families then I will.

This is the link to my Just Giving page:

www.justgiving.com/profile/emmacleeve

Any donations are appreciated. Thank you.

Emma

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The New Year Means Nothing If You’re Still In Love With Your Comfort Zone

 

A Very Big Happy New Year!

When I started University it wasn’t my first choice of where I wanted to go. I wanted to go to a Drama School. But after two years of auditioning and not succeeding I decided I wanted to move out and experience University. So I managed to get a place last minute of the Drama degree course at the University of Manchester.

I do not regret this choice… but I’m not going to lie and say that University has been easy or the favourite part of my life up in Manchester. In my previous post I described myself as a happily busy person. So the tiny amount of contact hours that I met at University was very difficult for me to get my head round. And after trying to join societies and not quite committing or feeling like I fit in them I didn’t have much achieved by that Christmas. Something that made me feel pretty miserable.

Don’t get me wrong I have made amazing friends and learnt really interesting things but I get bored so easily! I could’t just be happy with the studying. For me going to University was about so much more!

I love the city of Manchester, I think it is incredible – how can you bored in a city like Manchester you might ask? And I agree. I needed a new perspective. I just needed to make the most of being here and do what I do best which was plan and fill my time!

So to cut a long story short by Christmas of second year I was doing acting classes in Media City with The Actors Lab Company and had a job working for Boux Avenue in Manchester Arndale. My days were full and I was happy.

These two additions to my life were exactly what I needed. Yes I was incredible busy and yes at times that meant I would feel overwhelmed and cry (I am a drama student after all) – quote Joey from friends “I am an actor, all my emotions need to be right on the surface!” – but that was OK because ultimately I felt more like myself again!

Anyway getting to the point!

I am now in third year and University has taken somewhat of a priority – a massive relief to my parents I might add! And I have joined the FuseTV channel at the University. A society I love being part of!

But what I’m most excited about is that I have decided to do a cycle ride from London to Paris for Best Cancer Care!

And I will be posting all the training and fundraising for it here.

So here is me this morning before I cycled to the pool for a swim – a trip I would normally do on the bus! The cycle takes me between 15-20 minutes so it’s not massive BUT I am going to try and do it three times a week. And then longer cycles very soon! Despite being pretty fit… cycling is not my thing. I go very slowly and my legs ache so quickly! Not to mention it is freezing at the moment! But this cycle is for such an amazing cause and I can’t help but love the challenge and doing something that gets me outside in the fresh air for longer.

Not the most flattering of photos! But I am proud to start my training! Now to get fundraising, so watch this space!

 

Busy Old Me!

I wasn’t going to start this way but I feel like if you’re going to start a blog you should probably introduce yourself!

So here goes…

I am Emma Cleeve, I am 22 and I am in my third year of a Drama degree at the University of Manchester. I am a total swim addict and go about 3 times a week as well as attempting to practise Yoga. I love gin, coffee, sushi, chocolate, sweet potato… and anything sweet if i’m honest! I love films and cooking programs and I absolutely love being outside and exploring new places!

My first love however was performing on a stage. Sadly I do very little of it at the moment but because I have performed to people since the age of six I have gotten very used to being taken out of my comfort zone. Admittedly I can take a lot of persuading a lot of the time and I rarely make a decision in the moment! But I think acting really pushes you to do things you wouldn’t naturally do. I truly believe it was my love of performing that meant I have achieved things that terrified me and met some inspiring people along the way.

I was also one of those children that literally went to a school club every night of the week and then on the weekends I’d do outside of school clubs! And I absolutely loved it! I played the piano and viola. I sang, I danced (very badly), I swam, I went to art and science clubs, I was in multiple choirs, I played in orchestras. When I think about it now I feel lazy just sitting here writing this…

I suppose this is why I am starting this blog: To advocate the type of person I am – busy! A lot of negativity is associated with being busy, saying it causes too much stress, and that it leads to poor relationships. But I truly believe with a nice amount of planning and being busy doing things that make you happy then it is totally worth it!

I want this blog to push me to try new things, and then write about them! And hopefully it will inspire, provoke good thoughts about having busy lifestyle and make you consider taking those risks in order to experience as much as possible!

I hope you enjoy the read!

Emma Cleeve

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