Diary of a Birmingham Party Girl (March)

She’s back, and boy has she been busy! In this month’s diary snippet, The Party Girl has been searching further afield than just the City Centre, as has been sampling venues in places from Tyburn to Moseley. With reviews on another 4 venues, sit back and enjoy the Diary of a Birmingham Party Girl...

March 10^th – Nandos

It’s the boyfriend’s birthday today, and despite being told it was my treat and he could go any where he wanted, he chose Nandos at The Fort Shopping Centre, out near Tyburn. Hardly the lavish birthday meal I was expecting him to opt for, but for a chicken-lover such as he is, there is no better place. It is quite simply a spicy chicken haven!

Famous for its unique Peri-Peri marinade, Nandos is a bustling and often busy restaurant chain that serves a wide variety of Mexican chicken dishes to suit all tastes. The restaurant was brightly lit, with colourful paintings on the walls and an authentic Mexican theme throughout.

The menu is quite unique in it’s design, as you choose your main, then you choose from a selection of sides, then you choose the spice of the marinade on your chicken (ranging from plain to extra hot), and then you can choose to an extra such as cheese to your burger or Peri-Peri salt to your fries.

You can choose from chicken on the bone, family platters, burgers, pittas and wraps as your main, and add chips, spicy rice, corn on the cob, and even Macho peas (made with parsley, mint and chilli). It’s not all just chicken on the menu though, as Nandos also offer a Steak Roll and Veggie, Beanie and Mushroom burgers, wraps and pittas too.

Prices for most main meals are in the region of £8-£9 for a main with two sides, so it certainly won’t break the bank and you do get good portion sizes. Nandos also has its own range of Peri-Peri sauces that you can taste and try, and I love to splash a selection of these all over my burger and chips!

It does feel slightly like an upmarket fast-food restaurant in some ways, as you have to order your food at the till and pay upfront – and it can be quiet noisy and crowded at times. The food, however, makes up for all of that. Nandos has to be one of my favourite places to eat; it’s reasonably priced, the portion sizes are definitely enough to fill you up and there really isn’t anything quite like Nandos chicken.

March 24^th – Llyods Bar & Walkabout

Tonight Arcane’s Press Officer Rachel and I headed to Birmingham for a spot of fun and frivolity, whilst we discussed the future plans for Arcane. It turned out to be an eventful evening for all the wrong reasons, but that’s another story entirely! So instead I’ll just stick to telling you all about the two venues we visited tonight.

We first headed to Llyods Bar, which was surprisingly quite for a Thursday. The bouncers took about ten minutes to check our IDs and let us in (as they were too busy messing around with their phones taking pictures of themselves, would you believe), which could be a reason for why there were no other young people in the whole place except for us! We then waited a further five minutes at the bar, despite the fact we were the only ones waiting to be served, as the bar staff were too busy talking to notice we were waiting. Not a great start to the evening at all really.

I have always liked the layout of Broad Street’s Lloyds Bar, as there are plenty of places to sit, and a separate dance floor area, so that you can choose to get up and dance or sit down and relax – which is a nice change from most of the bars and clubs in Birmingham, as most have very little seating and you have no choice but to stand on the dance floor all night, even if you don’t want to dance.

The drinks aren’t too pricey, as it is another conquest of the Wetherspoons group (see February’s Diary for full drinks and food list), but for me the atmosphere was all wrong tonight. It’s usually a lively and exciting bar to be in of a weekend, but tonight we sat in near silence amongst a large group of business men and woman, who were just there to wind down after a hard days work. They weren’t doing anything wrong in that, but it definitely didn’t have the upbeat party atmosphere we were looking for, so we moved on.

Instead we headed next door to Walkabout, which quite frankly was a mistake this evening! Once we had queued to have our IDs checked, and then queued to pay our entry fee, we then spent a good 20 minutes queuing at the bar. I do understand that it was busy in there, but after Rachel had already been served the barmaid walked away without bothering to serve me, and went off to serve down the other end of the very long bar. I must have stood there for ages trying to catch the attention of someone, and it was only when I started huffing at the fact that people who had just arrived at the bar were getting served before me, did the barman who had been ignoring me for ten minutes decide it was finally my turn!

Other than the ridiculously long wait at the bar, I can’t really complain about Walkabout. The drinks are cheap, with lots of £1 shots and special offers on Vodka Redbulls and cocktails, and the music is always good in my opinion. The main point of interest for me was the great atmosphere the place had in comparison to where we had just come from. There was definitely a party vibe, which is exactly what we were looking for. The one thing that can be guaranteed with Walkabout is that it will always be full of young people and students, and there is always a good party vibe – so if that’s what you’re looking for on a night out, then Walkabout might just be the place to head.

March 30^th – Diwan Restaurant

This evening I joined the rather crazy women of Pinsent Masons law firm (in Birmingham) for a meal at a small Indian restaurant in Moseley. I wanted to wander a bit further afield in my search of great venues in Birmingham, and I thought it would be interesting to see where other people choose to spend their time, so the Diwan Restaurant seemed the ideal place.

I have to say, the place totally won me over. It might have been down to the brilliant company I was keeping this evening, but I’ve got the feeling it had much more to do with the delicious food on offer. The only whinge for me really was that we were a large party of about ten, and yet they had squished us together on a table not really big enough to hold eight of us. We did ask to have a bigger table, and the restaurant wasn’t that busy when we arrived that we couldn’t have been given a bit more room, but they didn’t seem to appreciate the fact that we ended up having to climb into our seats and had next-to-no elbow room whatsoever!

Other than that slight niggle, however, the Diwan is a lovely place. The staff were friendly, the service was prompt and the menu is vast and filled with plenty of choice. The Diwan doesn’t have an alcohol licence, which might be a problem for some, but as I see it it’s a chance to “bring a bottle” instead of spending loads on expensive drinks during the night.

They have a vast range of starters (including the delightful Diwan Kebab – say it fast and see the comedy value!), mains and desserts – with mixed and half portions of the mains, meaning you can order exactly what you like, and mix and match to get the perfect meal for you. The Nann bread we had was the size of the table, and the staff will even offer to alter dishes to fit your specific tastes or dietary needs, as all food is prepared fresh and as ordered.

We got everything we had asked for, just the way we liked it, and being as we were such a large table we even got free coffees with the bill. Each and every woman at the table said her food was just divine, and when the bill came it was barely £10 per head for each person’s starters and mains – so the staff made double that it tips! Despite being a bit out of the way, the Diwan is not far from town, and has free roadside parking seconds from the door. It is definitely a must-try if you are a lover of Indian cuisine and looking for something a bit different to what you have locally.

April's Amazing Fashion Wishlist - London Style

April's Fashion Wishlist has been altered slightly, as I spent this weekend down in London, pounding the paving slabs of Oxford Street and beyond in search of simple and elegant key pieces with which to update my flagging wardrobe. It's not been the easiest month to be out splashing the cash on clothes, shoes and accessories, as I have no less than seven - yes 7 - birthday's this month. That, for those who aren't so great at maths, amounts to seven birthday presents, seven birthday parties and seven birthday outfits!

Luckily for me (in some ways) six of my friends have double booked their party dates on two separate weekends - meaning that I will be driving to Cannock and then back to Coleshill one Saturday night, the following Friday I will be driving to Selly Oak and then back to Water Orton in the one night and then on the Saturday of that weekend I will be at a joint birthday party - so technically for those six birthdays I will only have to find three outfits. Which is a slight blessing.

So for most of the parties I am making do with what I already own, as I have a habit of hoarding party dresses and barely wearing them once in a year, before I go out and purchase more party outfits. This year, however, I have been sensible and have just bought things I actually needed (or wanted that much I'd have died walking away from them!).

For this month's Amazing Fashion Wishlist I thought I'd split it into two topics of fashion - daywear necessities I picked up in London, and party dresses I am intending to wear to my numerous parties. So, without any further adieu I shall get on with displaying my most recent set of purchases from that there London town.

Three-story Primark

One of my favourite things about London's shopping hub is the three-story Primark they have located at the far end of Oxford Street. After arriving in London and picking up lunch in Holborn on the Saturday, myself and my family headed straight to Primark and got stuck in.

The only item of clothing I actually ended buying form Primark was this white, lace tassel crop top (£8). It does look lovely on, and the tassels along the hem means that there isn't too much tummy on show which helps! While the weather isn't at it's brightest I'm just going to wear it with jeans or leggings - although I am now in constant fear of snagging it on something as there are so many tiny threads hanging off it! So no hugs for me in this top, me thinks!

I bought these wedge thong sandals from Primark too (£12). I have lots of pairs of brown or tan gladiator sandals and wedges, but only one pair of black summer shoes, and they don't go with anything I own now really. I don't normally like flower detailing on shoes, but the way these have been done looks really nice, and not too girly either - which is a pet hate of mine! They're suede so even though they rubbed to start with I'm hoping they will soften up soon enough. I also love the slight wedge to them, as I think it makes your feet look much nicer than in flat-soled shoes. But that's just me being extra weird!

On the accessories front Primark did well for quirky detailing. I bought this raffia style cross-body bag for a tiny £6. It's not the biggest bag in the world, and with my purse, keys and phone in there's barely room for a lip gloss, but it is really nice and practical for when you need your hands free (to shop or hold drinks etc!). Plus, it's got a really summery feel to it and it will go with loads of clothes I own.

I also bought this horse buckle waist

belt, which I just fell in love with. It was a minuscule £1.50, and it's going to look great wrapped round plenty of my summer dresses to give them that extra touch of vintage. I really struggle to find waist belts that fit me as I'm so tiny, but this one is perfect and I can't wait to wear it now.

Further more, I treated myself to some hold-up style tights which have been huge this year. I love patterned tights of all varieties, and these are my new crush. They just look so sexy with anything, and they make a real statement of any outfit. Plus, they are much easier to wear than real stockings! Primark make a decent pair for £3, which is drastically cheaper than River Island's £15 pair. They will all rip in the end, so why fork out a fortune for them? At £3 you could easily afford to stockpile them for the next few months.

I got a tad excited by Primark's jewellery as well - as usual! I bought this heavy duty chain for £3.50, which really does weigh a ton! I think it looks quite vintage and it's a simple accessory to add to most outfits to help style them up a bit more. I also bought a gold fig leaf necklace (£2.50) and a gold leaf ring (£2) which snakes up your finger, as I thought they would also help give a bit more of a vintage look to some of my outfits. I don't do dainty jewellery, so the chain on the necklace could do with being a bit bigger in my opinion - but they're all beautiful really!

H&M heaven

H&M is normally my safe haven for clothes, as I'm guaranteed to come away with something lovely for a tiny price. I can normally buy half the shop, but there just didn't seem to be all that much on offer in London sadly so I left with these cute camel pumps (£8) in the end. These will be great in the summer with jeans, dresses and skirts. The neutral colour means they can go with almost anything as well, which is a bonus!

New Look loving

I ended my shopping spree in New Look, where I picked up a fair few key pieces for my summer wardrobe. Firstly, this Spanish-style floral off-the-shoulder dress (£28) is to die for. They do it in white and red as well, but I stuck to black so that I could easily match it with my new Primark sandals. It has a great ruffled neckline, a nipped in waist band to add shape, and is the perfect leg-length for petites like myself. I am going to live in this dress this summer, it is bang on trend!

This blue ripped edge t-shirt (£8) is basically a simple version of my more elaborate Primark top, but I think with jeans or my high-waisted shorts it's going to look quite special. They do it in a variety of colours and it's a nice yet simple day top to throw on and look good in. With my Primark chain and my H&M shoes I think this is going to look great - much better than it does in this picture any way!

Finally, I managed to get my hands on some light blue, high-waisted jeans (£16). As a short arse I really struggle to find good quality fitted jeans, so I have resorted to buying kids jeans to make sure they fit properly! Laugh all you want but kids jeans don't have added VAT so who's really winning? Almost all of the jeans I have bought over the last couple of years have been New Look kidswear, and they do make some really lovely, well fitting designs. The high waist on these will help vamp up a few of my current outfits, and the light blue is really striking in the sunny weather. Plus, they're very light on, and are almost like a jegging rather than a jean - so they're extra comfortable too.

I am...Editor

My sincerest apologies for not blogging more these last few weeks, but my Uni work has officially taken over! I currently run my own Birmingham-based events website "Arcane Magazine", and with me having to post and update it with new articles almost everyday, I'm finding it hard to do anything but work on that at the minute.

But fear not faithful Twenty-one and Invincible followers, I am back and I have plenty going on this month to keep you interested - and hopefully make up for lacking in the quick witted and humorous story department as of late!

I thought I'd use this post to share with you a little bit about the magazine that is currently taking over my life, in the hope that you will see why I have had to neglect blogging on here recently in favour of pushing myself forward in my budding career as an established Birmingham journalist.

Arcane Magazine has been up and running since the end of February this year, and what started as a print publication with a blog to run alongside as an extra bit of content for the magazine, has now become a full-blown online magazine, updated almost every day with news bites, previews, reviews, interviews, exclusives and features - as well as video and image content and interactive maps to support my written work.

The team consists of myself as Editor, Clare Evans as a freelance writer, and Rachel Powell (from The Life Of A Pee-Pod) as Press Officer. Being that we are a small team, I write a good 90% of the content myself, I have produced all the video/image slideshows and other interactive content myself so far, I designed and maintain the website itself, I manage the email account and liaisons with interviewees/event hosts, as well as producing and maintaining the online marketing of the site (through Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Flickr accounts).

Clare writes a handful of prearranged previews for me every month, as well as contributing her own ideas and articles as and when she stumbles across them. I have recently upped Rachel's input into the magazine by bringing her in on more of the marketing and promotion for the business. She has started by helping with online marketing campaigns, and hopefully over the next few weeks she will be producing press releases and contact lists for event companies and venues in Birmingham which we could work with and report upon.

Arcane covers a vast range of local and hyper local events happening in and around Birmingham, including club nights, drinks promotions, sporting events, dance and comedy shows, music performances, fashion events...and so much more in between that I'd struggle to list it all here.

Arcane also prides itself on the special retrospect events which we cover, which involve any event which could be seen as being a blast from the past; a forgotten pastime, which once thrilled and delighted our predecessors and has become a mere memory as time has moved on. We at Arcane want to bring these great events back to the forefront, and in doing so we hope to bring back the sense of community in the area of Birmingham which, again, over time has been lost.

As part of our strive to help bring back the sense of community in Birmingham, myself and Rachel ran a week-long "I Love Brum" campaign, where we asked people to post and tweet about why they loved Birmingham. The response was great, and Rachel managed to triple the amount of people who followed Arcane online in less then three days!

We had so many great comments about Birmingham, and the campaign really seemed to get people engaged and thinking about why they enjoyed being a Brummie - so I think we achieved exactly what we set out to do, which brought people to the site and created that sense of community that we had been looking for.

As the magazine has evolved and developed, I have already begun to see more interest in Arcane and what we have to offer, as recently I have had people contacting me asking me to write about their events and help to promote them - and people have been more than willing to conduct interviews with me and send me any info and pictures I might need to accompany my articles. This morning I even got up to find an email off a freelance graphic designer asking if Arcane would like to work with him on upcoming projects. To top it all, Arcane is now being promoted on another long-established Birmingham website/blog called Created in Birmingham, which has been running since 2006 and has a vast following online.

I feel like Arcane is fast becoming a legitimate Birmingham magazine, and our popularity and online community is growing daily. For three students who are essentially running this out of their own homes, we don't seem to be doing to bad with Arcane at all. I can't speak for the other members of the team, but this is more than just a final year project for me. This is a chance for me to showcase what I'm made of and show people in the industry what I can produce. But most of all, I feel a real tie to Arcane because I am passionate about Birmingham as a place, and passionate about the great people within it who make these awesome events a reality.

I have met some really interesting and inspiring people since I have been running Arcane, and by helping to promote the great things that they are doing I feel like I'm a part of all the great things that are happening in my local area - a fact which really cements my beliefs about why I'm training to be a journalist, and why I feel I'm in the right profession. Hopefully Arcane will continue to grow and progress over the next few months, and I do hope all who read this will support me in my work. You can visit the site at http://whatsonarcane.com/, so please feel free to stop by and be involved in Arcane.