Sunday Brunch at Loli’s

Loli’s in Swansea Marina is a Mediterranean restaurant which serves dishes inspired by Spain, Italy and Greece, and they also have a variety of pizzas on their menu.
I called in for Sunday brunch, a nice treat, and sat at the table by the big window looking out over the boats. Here’s the brunch menu:

The marina was busy as the Half Marathon event was taking place as I enjoyed my brunch of eggs florentine and a cuppa. It’s not unusual to have an alocholic drink with a Sunday brunch, and I’m sure that Loli’s well stocked bar will have that covered.

I’m hoping to try their Tapas/evening meal soon. My friend Liz, who has a good knowledge of Tapas had a look at the menu and said that she has never seen the dish ‘Berenjena’ – deep fried aubergine drizzled in honey, other than in Spain. Sounds lovely.

Murton Farm Shop and Nursery

Murton Farm Shop is a family owned business and grow and locally source most of the produce in the shop. They sell freshly grown vegetables, a variety of fruit, freshly laid eggs, jams, welsh cheese, and lots more.

Funnily enough today I didn’t buy anything local or indeed from Wales. I bought bakewell tarts and lemon biscuits from ‘up North’ and some lush apple and raspberry juice from an orchard in Suffolk, plus a packet of blancmange as my daughter didn’t know what it was – I think I have failed there somewhere….

There is also a nursery for your bedding plants, herbs, veg, fruit etc… I bought 2 beef tomato plants to grow in my proch, hopefully successfully. I missed the runner beans this year. Lovely way to spend an hour on a Saturday morning. Check their website for opening times, and get there early as the afternoons are busy….for all the right reasons.

Here is a photo from their website of the nursery…it’s huge!

Clich HERE for their website.

Grassroots Music Venues

We all know that the majority of successful bands don’t start out in stadiums. They cut their teeth in grassroots music venues. These venues provide an essential platform for bands to perform, and they support local talent.

The Music Venue Trust, a charity which acts to protect, secure and improve these venues, defines them as beacons of music and key generators of the night-time economy. They inspire towns and attract audiences who add significant value to other aspects of the night-time economy – restaurants, pubs, bars and clubs for example.

Not only do we pay on the door and buy tickets to attend an event, we may also go for a meal somewhere too. Enjoyment is had and money is spent.  

Grassroots music venues are at the heart of the music scene and also our communities. When they close they hit our communities hard and the threat of closure is real. The Music Venue Trust continues to do all it can to protect them. The Big Issue is also highlighting their importance by recently launching Venue Watch, a campaign to support and champion them, confirming that grassroots music venues are crucial cultural institutions.

Grassroots music venues in Swansea are doing what they can to help attract more people to the city and they say that additional late-night public transport from Swansea to Cardiff and further afield will help – the last train from Swansea is about 1030pm for example. In partnership with The Arena, Elysium, The Bunkhouse, Hangar 18, Hippos, and Sin City are asking Welsh Government to consider discussing this in the Senedd. For this to happen they need thousands of keen music and arts lovers to sign their petition, and they are nearly a third of the way there. If you would like to sign the petition and hopefully watch the number go up to 10,000 (the number of signatures they need)  click on this link: Supporting Swansea’s Grassroots Music Venues (swansea-arena.co.uk)  Swansea Council is also doing its bit. It recently advertised for a Music Development Officer to join their Cultural Services team to develop live music in the city.

I read somewhere that a vibrant and mixed night-time economy encourages tourism, boosts the local economy and even contributes to shaping places where people want to live. By supporting grassroots music venues, we provide an audience for up and coming talent and help create scenes and communities – great things can happen when people come together. We support culture and diversity, and we help create jobs. The importance of these venues should never be underestimated, and they should never be taken for granted. Let’s hope that the grassroots music venues in our communities don’t just survive but thrive.

Worth the Weight Vintage Kilo Sale

Worth the Weight Vintage Kilo  Sale is back at the Brangwyn Hall on Saturday 3rd February. Items costs £20 per kilo, with prices starting at £1. It has nine tonnes of handpicked vintage and pre-owned stock and its best to get there early – there was a queue on opening last time.

Open from 11am to 5pm. Entry £3 for early bird and £2 after.

Sign the Petition

Elysium, The Bunkhouse Swansea, Hangar 18 Music Venue, Hippos, and Sin City Swansea, with support from Swansea Arena are petitioning Welsh Government, to improve late night travel services across South Wales.

This is about improving late night travel services, specifically travelling east from Swansea (and West Wales in general) into the valleys and towards Cardiff and Bristol. Public transport finishes around 10pm, and so getting home after a gig and relying on public transport means leaving the venue early and missing some of it! They have 2483 signatures and need 10,000 for it to be debated in the Senedd. Read the full post on the Swansea Arena page HERE and click on the link to sign the petition:

Improve vital late night public transport infrastructure in South and South West Wales. – Petitions (senedd.wales)

Crumbs it was busy at Crumbs!

Crumbs Kitchen is situated in the heart of the Uplands and offers predominantly veggie and vegan food. I called in for a broccoli and stilton quiche to take away and it was mega busy! Described as being very much a community, it has a large regular customer base and a very relaxed atmosphere and good ‘no meat food’. Here’s the breakfast menu:

And click HERE for their website.