[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-angel-delight-and-other-festive-things":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"First things first. Whenever the subject of \u003Ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Delight\">Angel Delight\u003C/a> comes up in conversation - and it does, more frequenly than you'd think - British people always widen their eyes and gasp at me: \u003Ci>\u003Cb>WHAT?!! You've never had Angel Delight? This is astounding! How can this be?!!\u003C/i>\u003C/b> And on questioning them, the word 'naff' will often come up, teamed with 'childhood memories', and very few people admitted they actually liked it. But this kept happening, and I needed to know. So when I was at the supermarket yesterday, confronted with an astounding array of Angel Delight flavours, I tweeted for help.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/angeldelight_tweet_zps1b05b2f3-27dce09019.gif\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd these two flavours - strawberry and butterscotch - were most definitely the \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jabberworks/status/409314956912640000\">best rated\u003C/a>. You'd be amazed how many people care about this.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/first_angel_delight_1_zps18437289-d03a427668.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSo here it started, in the name of scientific cultural research. Oops, after I started adding the milk to the powder, I realised I was supposed to add the powder to the milk. (How could I mess up a recipe this simple? Would it still turn out all right?)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/first_angel_delight_2_zps951a2a60-d256e3db1c.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nFive minutes in the fridge, then the moment of truth. And it was.... very tasty! I couldn't figure out why everyone talked it down so much after their initial flutter. I had more suggestions from people on Twitter, to chill it with custard creams, pieces of Mars bar, or even mix in a spoonful of peanut butter. (That last one was \u003Ca href=\"http://scribblehound.com/\">Dave O'Connell\u003C/a>'s suggestion; he was the final astonished person who finally set me off on my Angel Delight quest.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/first_angel_delight_3_zps39100ac4-b994bac788.jpg\">\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for more under the cut!-->\\r\nWe tried the strawberry flavour this evening, also very yummy. Stuart hadn't tried it in 30 years and was VERY skeptical, but then he liked it, and gave it a 6.5 on a scale of 10 for tastiness. So thank you, lovely Brits, for your assistance on this pressing matter!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/first_angel_delight_4_zps980a43bd-4263050158.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSo Christmas is really coming to south London. I saw this nice festive jumper on sale in Deptford Market, while on a coffee break from the studio. Twitter people say it's available on eBay, but come on, beat £8.99 in Deptford, people!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/deptford_xmas_jumper_zps51b502ba-c82b732288.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOther festive things, the newspaper Christmas book round-ups! Yay, here's a peek at Saturday's \u003Ca href=\"http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/07/best-childrens-literature-2013\">\u003Ci>Guardian Review\u003C/i> section\u003C/a>. (Oddly, Oliver's been renamed 'Alex', but hey ho, he quite likes that name, too.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/07/best-childrens-literature-2013\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/guardian_seawigs_xmas_zpsaaecf1b1-0169bc22ad.jpg\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\nYou can read a \u003Ca href=\"http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/12/oliver-seawigs-philip-reeve-sarah-mcintyre\">more extensive review of \u003Ci>Oliver and the Seawigs\u003C/i>\u003C/a> in \u003Ci>The Guardian\u003C/i> by \u003Cb>SF Said\u003C/b>, who also happens to have a book next to us in the list! (\u003Ca href=\"http://www.sfsaid.com/p/phoenix.html\">\u003Ci>Phoenix\u003C/a>\u003C/i>, illustrated by \u003Cb>Dave McKean\u003C/b>). Thanks for the mentions, \u003Cb>Michelle Pauli\u003C/b> and SF! (You can follow them on Twitter as \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/michellepauli\">@michellepauli\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/whatSFSaid\">@whatSFSaid\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"2450\"/>\\r\n\\r\nAnd speaking of Angel Delight, the hat I wore to last night's Booksniffer Christmas party was more Turkish Delight than Angel. The \u003Ca href=\"http://booksniffingpug.blogspot.co.uk/\">Booksniffer\u003C/a> gorgeous children's book blog and \u003Ca href=\"http://theapppuppy.blogspot.co.uk/\">The App Puppy\u003C/a> are run by \u003Cb>Emma O'Donovan\u003C/b> (\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/maybeswabey\">@maybeswabey\u003C/a> on Twitter) and she threw a party for fellow bloggers, illustrators and writers.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://booksniffingpug.blogspot.co.uk/\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/booksniffer_xmasparty_zpsd078f852-f17dba50ed.jpg\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\nAnd here's the hat! I love seeing pictures of \u003Ca href=\"http://www.dame-edna.com/\">Dame Edna\u003C/a> around London, \u003Ci>she is my future\u003C/i>. Neither the hat nor the feather boa had been given a chance to have an outing (other than as a backdrop for my \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/605867.html\">\u003Ci>Goth Girl\u003C/i> review\u003C/a>) so it was well time. I found the hat at a wonderful vintage shop with Sarah and Philip Reeve, after doing our \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/571296.html\">school visit in Lyme Regis\u003C/a>. Ah, look at me, one of the first people to dive into the bag for the prezzie swap. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/booksniffer_sarah_zps34e323f5-9d90a80772.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Photo on right by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/sarahyewman\">Sarah Yewman\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nAnd I totally scored! I got this \u003Ca href=\"http://helenanimate.com/writing/\">\u003Ci>Animation Studio\u003C/i>\u003C/a> activity kit, created by animator/illustrator \u003Ca href=\"http://helenanimate.com/\">Helen Piercy\u003C/a> and Walker Books (Candlewick Books in the USA). I've opened it up, it looks amazing! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/animation_studio_zpse7acb35f-367ef20f4e.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI got to meet Helen at the party and she said I could get easy apps for my phone to do stop-motion animation, and said I could get in touch with her to find out which one she'd recommend. (She's \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/HelenAnimate\">@HelenAnimate\u003C/a> on Twitter if you want to get in touch with her.) Here's a video trailer:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"2451\"/> \\r\n\\r\nAnother person I was mega-excited to spot across the room was fab writer-illustrator \u003Ca href=\"http://alextsmith.blogspot.co.uk/\">Alex T. Smith\u003C/a>! And then we both had a squee moment when \u003Ca href=\"http://www.emmachichesterclark.co.uk/\">Emma Chichester Clark\u003C/a> came in with Plum, who stars in her \u003Ca href=\"http://emmachichesterclark.blogspot.co.uk/\">Plumdog blog\u003C/a> comic strips. Ah, and it took me awhile to figure it out, but then I realised that was \u003Ca href=\"http://www.benjidavies.com/blog/\">Benji Davies\u003C/a> in the back, writer-illustrator of \u003Ca href=\"http://www.benjidavies.com/thestormwhale/\">\u003Ci>The Storm Whale\u003C/i>\u003C/a>, SUCH a beautiful book. And one book I accidentally left out of my Christmas round-up list (how could I do this?) was Alex's \u003Ca href=\"https://www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781444919110\">\u003Ci>Claude on the Slopes\u003C/i>\u003C/a>, the first time Claude's had his first hardcover book! The \u003Ca href=\"http://claudebooks.blogspot.co.uk/\">Claude books\u003C/a> are gorgeous, such lively, funny illustrated tales, perfect for kids who want to read a book with a few more words than a picture book, but not commit to huge page of text. (And for adults like me, who love Alex's work.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/booksniffer_emmaalexbenji_zpsb3a102f3-3c39588e12.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI hadn't seen writer-illustrator \u003Ca href=\"http://chrismould.blogspot.co.uk/\">Chris Mould\u003C/a> since I had coffee with him and Nikki Gamble \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/83907.html\">at the Bologna Book Fair in 2008\u003C/a>, so I was VERY happy to see him! (He's one of those people I feel I sort of know from the Internets, but never actually see.) And look, it's \u003Ca href=\"http://emmadodd.co.uk/\">Emma Dodd\u003C/a>! And \u003Ca href=\"http://guyparkerrees.com/index.html\">Guy Parker-Rees\u003C/a> in a very festive jumper! (There were a lot of festive jumpers that evening, and then it got hot and there was a big pile in the corner of festive jumpers.) I got a peek at Emma's beautiful polar bear \u003Cb>Forever\u003C/b> picture book, which \u003Ca href=\"http://booksniffingpug.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/babys-first-christmas-with-baby-london.html\">Booksniffer has recently  included on her blog here\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/booksniffer_chrisemmaguy_zpsa390eb29-dabce84577.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nMore up-and-coming illustrators, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.amberinhuq.com/\">Amberin Huq\u003C/a>, me, \u003Ca href=\"http://gracesandford.carbonmade.com/\">Grace Sanford\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"http://www.chloeillustrates.co.uk/\">Chloe Douglass\u003C/a>. And the Booksniffer Emma herself, right there in the middle with the mascot pooch! Plus \u003Ca href=\"http://sarahyewman.blogspot.co.uk/\">Sarah Yewman\u003C/a> on the left and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/InklingPress\">Helen Boyle\u003C/a> (my excellent \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/492473.html\">tea party companion\u003C/a>) on the right. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/booksniffer_ladies_zpsb33f6dda-662cdcdd6f.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHuge thanks for a brilliant party, Emma! (Do go \u003Ca href=\"http://booksniffingpug.blogspot.co.uk/\">read her blog\u003C/a>!) And I met so many amazing people that I was quite overwhelmed. And even those I found out I hadn't met, who were there (such as \u003Ca href=\"http://www.paulthurlby.com/\">Paul Thurlby\u003C/a>, I LOVE his alphabet book). Hope to meet you next time!","2013-12-08T21:59:00.000Z","angel-delight-and-other-festive-things",[],"angel delight and other festive things",1776628725971]