Totally addicted

Hello!

This blog comes direct to you from Sanlucar la Mayor near Sevilla in the southern Spain. Rather than putting off writing this week's edition of The World Of Hagg until I return to the UK I thought I would use some downtime to write up this week's news.

Status Update

As my summer vacation to the USA approaches and the impending excitement of gambling in Las Vegas mounts I am reminded just how careful I need to be otherwise I may come back totally broke! In advance of my trip I have been tipped off about a rewards scheme called M-Life.

M-Life is essentially a free scheme where you earn points by gambling that can be redeemed for experiences at a number of participating hotels on the Vegas strip. If you are so inclined you can buy reward points to be reclaimed at a later date, but for all those who just want to save a bit of money there is an online game where you can earn rewards. The game itself is linked through a Facebook app, so super handy, and takes very little effort; just press a button, watch the colours spin and hope for a big win!

So, for the past couple of weeks I have been spending my free time clicking 'BET' and watching as my money shoots up only to be gone a few spins later whilst my reward points mount. I can already reclaim some free drinks, but if I keep going I can get enough points for free meals, tickets to shows and if someone was truly dedicated they could get enough points to pick the music they play during the world-famous Bellagio fountain music.

With only 6 weeks to go I am going to be devoting a large part of my evenings and free time to racking up the reward points and getting some extremely cool free stuff to help make some memories that will last a lifetime. If you are going to Vegas or even if you think that one day you would like to go my advice to you is sign up to M-Life now. Not only is it fun, but when you finally visit you could save a tonne of money. My only concern is that my addiction turns very real when I touchdown in Vegas and start betting actual money.

Haggy's Hols

Megabus
After spending endless amounts of hard-earned money on travelling up and down the country to Stansted Airport on previous holidays I thought I would give public transport a go. Somewhat nervously and with a great deal of trepidation I pre-booked megabus tickets to London to catch a train at the other end.

My previous experiences of megabus would be well described as cramped and uncomfortable. Some may even say the Ryanair of the road (the same colours help the comparison too). The buses are too often old, stinky and loud so to arrive at the newly designated bus stop in Newcastle and be greeted by a double decker bus was a huge relief. I found myself a table and settled in for the long haul. I sat down to overhear some random conversations about conspiracy theories but there is only so much one man can take and in went the earphones!

The journey itself was smooth and quiet so I had a bit of time (6 hours) to pass sleeping and listening to music. All told the bus/train worked well and if flight times are reasonable it may well be something I do again. Time will tell, but for now my wallet can breathe a sigh of relief as I don't need to make this journey again for a couple of months!

The Mushrooms
It seems that each time I visit Seville I discover something new and I am yet to venture into the truly touristy destinations of the Catedral de Sevilla or the Real Alcazar. There is just so much to see and so much to do! One day I will have done it all and may be able to create some kind of tour guide for beginners, but I wouldn't inflict the world with that, after all my blog will suffice!

This time out we wandered up the main street and headed towards Metropol Parasol aka Incarnacion's Mushrooms. The Mushrooms Seville is a city full of tradition so to find huge modern structure is totally unexpected, but that is exactly what The Mushrooms is. Claiming to be the world's largest wooden structure it stands tall amongst traditional buildings and casts an impressive shadow on the surrounding area. The foundations of the building sit atop some old Roman ruins that are backlit by mood lighting that changes colour to create varying atmospheres below ground level. As contradictory as it sounds the marriage between old and new seems to work somehow. The building seems to fit effortlessly and without fuss into central Seville and brings a new modern edge to the place, creating a cooler and trendier vibe in the immediate area.

(fake as this may look this is genuinely my picture)

We paid a minimal fee (1.35euros) and took a lift to the viewing level. From here you get great views of the city and really get to explore the structure via a snaking and sloping pathway that meanders around the top of the building. I don't think I can really do it just by describing it, so I will let some pictures do the talking. My advice though is to definitely check it out if you are in Seville, as it is great for those on a budget and you can still pretend to be all kinds of cultural and brag to your friends about being so intellectual! I can't because I am not...

Just to make you jealous there is a really cool little cocktail place at the base where you can sup on a classic or watermelon mojito for 3euro. You didn't here me complaining!

Food Glorious Food

Any holiday to Spain demands that you must eat tapas. I mean it is like visiting coastal France and not eating moule frites, Germany and not eating Bratwurst, Italy and not eating Calzone or coming to Newcastle and not drinking Brown Ale - I mean straight up, no holds barred, wrong!

DIY Tapas
This week I have eaten some fabulous food as always, but instead of telling you about all my foodie goodness I thought I would use some culinary know how to recreate a dish I had and share it with you. Filled with flavours you wouldn't normally associate with Spain I was taken aback when I saw 'ternero a la mostaza' (veal in mustard sauce) on the menu, so of course had to try it! I was not disappointed. So without further ado ladies and gentlemen here is how to make your very own simply but delicious tapa.

Ingredients

Thin beef steak 

White Onion

Cream

Wholegrain mustard

Method

Finely slice the onion

Sautee in oil over a medium heating until the onion softens

Add the steak and brown on all sides

Stir in a heaped teaspoon of mustard

Drizzle over some cream

Warmth through

Enjoy with some crusty bread. 

Nom!

I Scream, You Scream...
One last thing. Whilst in Sevilla I came across a fantastic ice cream parlour called La Abuela (www.heladoslaabuela.com). This is no ordinary ice cream as whilst you can choose standard vanilla or strawberry goodness you can also sample some more abstract flavours. Ranging from Ferrero Rocher to lollipop and cheesecake to a Spanish classic tarta nata (cream cake). Personally I went for a combo of one scoop White Nutella and one scoop caramelised pine nut ice cream. Both rocked my socks, but the Nutella was particularly spectacular.

Hagg's Hockey Corner

Last week, as you know, the Ball Hockey season came to a climactic end. My Dekstars team came so close to taking home the national champions title, but we didn't and we move on but it still hurts and I am still kicking myself for not having the guts to take a penalty shot - never again! Anyway...having devoted a lot of time to Ball Hockey over the past couple of months I am taking a bit of a rest and a weekend away from the game. I will be back to it next week, but over this time off I have been able take stock of the season and have set myself some fairly hefty challenges for the coming year.

In the off-season I aim to keep fit and learn more about Ball Hockey seeing as I only started playing in October last year. However, my biggest personal target for the year is to attend Team GB trials and not totally embarrass myself and hopefully get a look in on the team. I feel I have played well in the Open tournaments and at nationals and have the potential to continue to develop in the sport, but you can never tell what a coach is looking for. Hopefully whatever it is I can bring it!

I cannot describe how jealous I am of my friends and team mates who made this year's squad and it is a mere matters of days before they fly out to Newfoundland, Canada. They have been training hard for months now, working on strategies and team fitness. Obviously not being a part of the squad I can't give you a great insight, but I know one man that can - James 'Leafy' Dixon. He has been blogging on his exploits and I wholeheartedly encourage you to read more about it here on this newly designed site - The Geordie Geek

For those of you who are interested I hear a rumour that some of the games may be televised at some point and if I can I will be finding a link and posting it so that you can find out more what Ball Hockey all about. Good luck to Team GB, we are all proud of you, give them hell!

Run Haggy Run

What's Run Haggy Run I hear you say?! A new element of the blog I cry! A little while ago I mentioned that I had been lucky enough to be given a ballot place in the Great North Run. I haven't exactly done much training to date, but not that the off-season of the Ball Hockey season is upon us I can start to focus a bit on running. To help me along with it and to keep you updated I thought I would add this section to my blog.

A couple of years back I set myself the challenge to run 5 half marathons in the course of a year. It was a year filled with training, injury setbacks and fancy dress, but ultimately very rewarding. I got the opportunity to run in some great cities and even managed to make the local news dressed in a skin-tight tiger onesie! I also set my personal best half marathon time of sub 1 hour 39 minutes in Dublin and got to celebrate with a Guiness...perfect!

I think I am still fit enough to run the distance, but I need to get out there on the streets and put the miles in. I know the Great North Run is not ideal for setting a personal best because of the amount of runners, but I would still like to achieve a modest time of perhaps 1 hour 45 minutes. One thing I know for sure if before actually doing the Great North Run itself I need to get myself some new running shoes. As much as I love my current pair of Asics I have run them into the ground and they know offer less cushioning than the retro Green Flash I wear out and about! I have found this out to my detriment after completing an easy 6 miler and bit more up tempo 3 miler over the weekend because I am now sporting a fetching in-step blister. Thanks for the sympathy in advance.

Before I run I will be asking for you all to donate to a charity very dear to me - the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Having lost someone close to me to Cystic Fibrosis I always run for the Trust because they put in some great work to raise awareness of the disease and undertake research to tackle it. Breathe easy for now because I haven't set up my fundraising page yet, but it will be coming so be warned!

For the time being though please keep yourself updated by following me on Twitter @adzhagg or using my super special hashtag #runhaggyrun

Have You Heard What Haggy's Heard?!?

To me, HYHWHH is what my blog is all about, but for the past couple of weeks I feel it has lost its spark. Whilst the main body of my blog needs structure I think this part really benefits from being off the wall and random. It is a section designed to bring new things to your life, make you smile, inspire you or at least give you something to distract you from the day-to-day grind called life. So, with all this in mind I am going to stop doing set things each week and just share random parts of my life with you, much as before!

Technology
This week the bods at Microsoft launched their next step in attempted world domination: the Xbox One. I swear it is all one big rouse because I had only just updated the software on my console and then the dreaded Ring of Fire means I am now sans console and yearning for gaming related fun. So it has been with heightened interest that I have watched both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 be announced over the past couple of months.

To be honest with you both Xbox One and the PS4 have left me feeling a little bit underwhelmed and disappointed. They promise much in regards to developing new technology and syncing up our ever increasing technological lifestyles, but I just don't get what they want to be any more; are they a gaming platform or something else? Call me old fashioned, but I have a laptop to go on social networking sites, Sky to watch TV and I want my console to plat games with and I don't want to mess with that. Gone are the days when a console could sell itself by merely announcing exclusive rights to upcoming games and instead we are now heading into the murky waters of social networking and web browsing. My fear is that combining everything could result in a reduced gaming experience as designers are asked to be able to include ways to 'share' progress on Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty rather than develop some killer levels.

Don't get me wrong I will no doubt crumble to peer pressure and by one of these consoles when they are released, which will depend on who can give me the best gaming experience and hasn't totally lost its way in the ever confused market. If you are considering buying one please let me know which so it may steer my choice and I can compete against you in some kind of online death match at some stage!

Argh just show me games!!!

Grammatical correctness
In light of the recent SAT tests where children are tested on their ability to identify and use grammar I have become a bit self-critical of my own writing style. I know I use the exclamation mark far too much but I think it is because I am so excitable and I just want to put that across. However I do like that we are continuing to teach grammar in schools because too often I see spelling mistakes or the wrong use of a Don't get me wrong grammar has always been taught in schools I just find it slightly amusing that it has made it to the news recently. What I don't get it that instead of people seeing the English language changing and evolving we are being forced to learn archaic language. What next, Latin again? Thank God I missed that period of schooling!

Whilst we are on funny grammar things check out this video from the one and only Lonely Island - Semicolon; part of the YouTube Comedy week and their impending new album Wack Wednesday.

Crazy story
This week well known musician (even though recent records make this debatable) George Michael fell out of  a car doing 70mph on the M1 and walked off with a few cuts and bruises. Looking at the pictures of the aftermath I am sure a fair few people are cursing this latest stunt because it closed the M1 down whilst emergency services attended the scene. I am not quite sure what he is trying to prove by doing this, but all I know is I would sign him up to be a stunt man in the next Die Hard movie! Check out the the full story and the cracking headline "Scrape me up before you go slow" from The Sun here

Music
So I am not going to let you down and not give you some music, but I haven't heard much new stuff this week given that I have been in Spain where today's hits are yesterday's hits over here. I am however looking forward to the release of Drake's third studio album called 'Nothing Was The Same'. There is not a lot known about the album, but having heard "Started From The Bottom" I am hoping for more of the same.

See y'all later! Love.
Haggy

Feria and the sweet taste of victory!

Hola amigos,

Welcome back. This week I bring you stories of my most recent adventure to Seville and also tales of how my hockey team captured the title of champions. Please stick with it because it may be slightly longer than normal under the new format, but it has been a fairly packed week. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Status Update

It has been a long week and my overriding feeling at the end of it is exhaustion. Filled with late nights in Spain and running myself into the ground playing hockey I am taking a well deserved break tonight and probably going to get an early night. I just can't work hard and play hard in the manner I once used to be able to.Wow does that sound like something an old man would say or what?! It has been a fun week and I got to see Vic again after a few weeks apart so I really cannot complain at all this week, not that I would anyway...honest.

Haggy's Hols

At 7am on Tuesday (after driving from Newcastle that morning) I climbed aboard a cramped Ryanair flight from Stansted and headed off to Seville. It was actually the first time I have been to Seville since November last year and I think I timed it perfectly. After hearing of some epic thunderstorms I arrived in a gloriously sunny Seville and basked in the mid 30s temperatures - not bad hey?!

Alongside getting to see my beloved I got to experience another truly Spanish holiday, Feria. Seville is internationally renowned for Feria, which is basically a week long party. I am still confused as to what it really celebrates, but lets be honest the Spanish don't need an excuse to have a good time and neither do I!

When you think of traditional Spanish clothing with the frills dresses and flowers in the hair you are thinking of Feria clothing. Everywhere you look women are wearing bold colours and trying to outdo each other with the size of their dresses or the size of the flowers in their hair. Let me tell you this they may all look glamorous, and they are, but underneath it all there is a lot of pain being endured from either the heels or even more so from the dresses that are so hip-huggingly tight that it is difficult to breathe!

We arrived at Feria at about 4pm after catching a bus with many a lady dressed in full Feria regalia. In the UK you would probably get funny looks for wearing fancy dress at that time of day, but for possibly the first time I didn't get stared at for being a foreigner, in fact we were greeted with smiles. As we approached the main event we were passed by many groups of party-goers on horse-drawn carriages and there was a palpable atmosphere of excitement and anticipation in the air. My first impression of Feria was that it was much bigger than I expected. A huge ferris wheel towered above a huge site crammed full of marquees or casetas.

Essentially the casetas are small tents designed to house small groups of people and as such are very private and exclusive. They are often reserved for high-society and act as a great way for people to show off their wealth and power. Some casetas and seat about 20 whereas others are huge and can hold what appeared to be well over 100 people. Each and every one was designed to look like someone's front room and pretty much is a home from home for the party people during Feria. Food and drink flows inside and if you are lucky enough to get an invite you best make the most of it. For those without an invite there are several public casetas that give you the same experience, but maybe with a bit less of the razzamatazz.

As the evening approached and the night drew in the party really came alive. The temporary streets were lit up with decoration and fairy lights and the casetas began to glow from within. We met up with some of Vic's colleagues and headed to some of the casetas that they had invitations to. As we drank rebujitos (recipe later) and ate tapas the festivities really began. Live bands played and people danced and chatted in the streets. A genuinely fun and friendly atmosphere ensued and we celebrated with the locals into the wee hours of the night. Overall, Feria was a fantastic experience and one unlike anything I have ever been part of before. Same again next year if anyone wants to join me?!

Food Glorious Food

This week I am going to dedicate this section to something slightly different...cocktails. We all love food, right? But have you ever had a drink that really made you forget about food in a good way that is not a 'I don't remember last night' kind of way? This week I enjoyed many a cocktail that brought back some fond memories so I thought I would share some of my favourite recipes with you so that you can create your own memories and then promptly forget them!

Rebujito - A classic Spanish feria drink that the locals love. These strong, but sweet cocktails are best served cold and served in a shot glass. That doesn't mean down it though it means enjoy in moderation and sip on it whilst the conversation and festivities flow.

Ingredients

500ml Sherry wine

Lemonade (to taste) 

Method

1. Put plenty of ice in a large jug

2. Pour the ingredients over and stir

Mojito - The classic and no cocktail party would be complete without it. Mix it up try new flavours and spirits, but enjoy! Best served at any time of the day and in copious quantities!

Ingredients

Mint (approx 8-10 leaves)

Lime wedges (approx 4)

1 tsp Brown Sugar 

50ml Rum (I like to use golden or honey)

Sprite (to taste)

Method

1. Muddle (mash) the limes, mint and sugar in a tall glass

2. Add some ice and give it a quick stir

3. Add the rum and stir again

4. Top the whole thing with a splash of Sprite

Raisin Expectations - I first had this cocktail in Popolos in Newcastle and enjoyed it so much that I just had to recreate it over the Christmas period. It is a luxurious cocktail that reminds me so much of melted rum and raisin ice cream. Honestly it is well worth a try and if you can't find a raisin syrup then make your own. It's easy just mix equal amounts water and sugar and boil until thick, then add a generous handful of raisins and blitz until smooth...yum!

Ingredients

25ml Raisin sugar syrup 

50ml Dark Rum (if you can find it use Myers)

25ml Cream 

50ml Full Fat Milk

Method

1. Pour all the ingredients in a shaker with some ice 

2. Shake well

3. Strain and Serve

Hagg's Hockey Corner

Where do I begin this week? I guess by bringing you the news that this week the mighty North East Dekstars  took a trip to a shed in the middle of Lutterworth and came home crowned the champions of the UK Ball Hockey Southern Nationals! The sweet taste of victory has come at a cost though as in our first came I received a stick to the face and am now sporting a lovely gash above my eyebrow which will likely scar. Winning has however made it tolerable and people have told me that women love a scar. I am not quite sure what Vic will think when she sees it though!

Anyway, back to the hockey. Over the course of a long, drawn-out day we would play a total of 8 games against a variety of different teams from across the country. Initially we were grouped with last year's national champions London Crusaders as well as Ealing Eagles, Sheffield Storm, Tayside Thunder and Shaw Millionaires. We drew our first game 2-2 against London and built on this by recording wins in each of our remaining group games. It was a fine run of form against some tough opposition and really helped us bond as a team and gain in confidence. Ultimately we topped the group and that saw us through to the knock out stage of the tournament as top seed.

In the semi we faced Ealing Eagles again and as ever it was a close game. Ealing play a very attractive form of hockey with good passing plays and are competent on the ball so we had to do our best to put pressure on them. As a result the game was close and went right to the last whistle. For me I came away from the game feeling both happy and mad at myself. Just moments after grabbing the only goal of the game I took a stupid penalty that left us defending the lead in the last minute on the penalty kill. As they had all day the defence stayed calm and did a great job seeing us through to the final.

The final saw us face off against the team we played in the first game of the day, the reigning national champions London Crusaders. It was always going to be a tough game and especially having lost 3 players before the start due to injury or prior engagements, but we went into it full of confidence. On the first shift of the game we lost a player to yet another injury and we would have to double shift for the rest of the game. This would make things more difficult but Justin Presseau got the first goal of the game and we never looked back. We went on to win 2-1 on the back of a further goal from Justin. It was a great feeling and it felt like a fantastic reward for all the hard work the team have put in over recent weeks.

Next stop nationals!!! We will go into it full of confidence and hopefully the injuries we suffered on the tough road to glory will have healed and we will all be ready to go again. We are only 3 weeks away from the main event. Let the countdown begin.

Have You Heard What Haggy's Heard

Story of the week - This week's story is in support of North Tyneside General Hospital's children's ward. In 2002 a signed Newcastle United football shirt was donated to the ward and brought real joy to the kids ever since. Last week someone stole this shirt. Why someone would do such a thing let alone on a children's ward defeats me, but if you see this shirt anywhere please report it and lets get it returned to where it belongs. For the full story click here

Song of the week - This song has been around a while and I have been listening to it for a while, but it is still not getting old. Although the lyrics are somewhat depressing this song still feels upplifting and pretty epic in general. So song of the week goes out to all the Biffy Clyro fans out there. Ladies and gentlemen I give you 'Biblical'

Quote of the week - This one is mine. During Feria we were stopped by the local news and asked to sum up what we think of Feria. Not knowing much conversational Spanish I went with the tried and tested "Guapa!" to satisfy their need to for soundbite. Little did I know that I had actually made the news until the next day when I was stopped in the street by Vic's landlord. So this week's quote of the week is the word that made me a local celebrity for all of a second - "GUAPA!!!!"

Book of the week *special edition* - Yes I know it's unbelievable, I can read! This week I finished reading Neil Gaiman's American Gods. In the modern world following the death of his wife one man gets mixed up in a mythical world of warmongering gods of yesteryear and the 'gods' of the modern era. Filled with twist and turns I was intrigued by the back stories of many of the gods who appear as well as the main thread of the story. It was a gripping read that gathered pace and really developed character profiles well. I really don't want to give too much away because every piece of the story is part of an intricate puzzle, but I would really recommend people go out there and check it out. The good news for all you non-readers out there is that apparently the book has been picked up by HBO and is getting a Game of Thrones-esque makeover.

See you later,
Haggy