Sugar Flower with Alan Dunn

Final product of private class with Alan.

Am so glad am at home now. And the best thing was, I came home to a very-very clean house. Hubby either missed me that much or he was bored out of his skull!! Either way, I'm happy coz the house is squeeky clean. I'm still going thru some mild jetlag, which I hope will clear up soon.

Anyways...

Whilst I was there, I managed to find the ever elusive Primrose Bakery near Covent Garden, I couldn't find it the first time I was looking for it with Shida. We'll have to thank iPhone for it's innovative maps. I was so happy when we found it. It was like, mission accomplished! I mean this place is where dreams have come true for 2 women. They started their baking at home, for their kids, and then they managed to get orders from the likes of Fortnum&Mason, Harrods, Knightbridge, and then for Anya Hindmach, Elton John, etc... and the best thing is, their cupcakes and cakes, they look real and so simple. No fancy schmancy thingy popping out of their cuppies.

Till now, they stick to what sells, flavor in all its simplicity.

And the setting of their little shop (I mean really!! It is a small little shop, with only 3 little tables where we had to share with 6 other people), it's so simple and homey..gosh!! I want to just sit there forever.....

And the kitchen/counter, it's not gleaming with modern gadgets whatsoever. It's just like my kitchen. Messy a bit and very down-to-earth. Typical shabby chic look (ok, my kitchen not shabby chic, it's not done but who cares). I loike!!

I had their choc cupcake with choc topping and carrot cake with creamcheese. Nice, not too sweet despite them being the butter icing type. Love!! Sis-in-law had their lemon cuppy, also nice!! And, I bought their recipe book and their bags!! Ahaks!! Too bad they ran out of aprons...

Let you share some of the pix..

this is Iman, my anak sedara from Manchester.

sempat lagi posing ngan sis ni who works at the bakery.

Had simple delicious cuppies and recipe book to boot.

Simple logo for simple cupcake shop

The yellow shop at the corner is the Primrose Bakery

So not!! I'm so not wearing this baju anymore..it made me looked big, which am not!!

On Friday and Saturday before the Primrose journey, I had a private class (or one to one) with Alan Dunn. Yep!! The one and only Alan Dunn. He was nice enough to accept a last minute request from me to have a 2 day private class with him. He charges about BP300/day, which worked out to be RM1500 perday. So, 2 days class was RM3000..thank God the exchange rate is a bit low right now. Imagine if it had been RM6.8 to BP1.. Pengsan!!

But then again, he took the trouble to come down to London, instead of having me go up to his place in Newcastle, which is about 3 hours ride on the train from London and would have set me back about another BP150 for train ticket and probably BP80-90 for one night stay at local b&b.

We had our little class at his friend, Sathya's, house in Croydon. A little place in south west of London. Thanks Sathya for letting me have the class at your place. And thanks a million for your hospitality. You were great!! BTW, Sathya is at least 3 times (correct me if I'm wrong, Sathya!!) gold medalist in cake decorating or sugar flower competition. And she's not a baker or teacher. She doesn't want to be. So dia memang terer habis!!

And Alan, hmmmm...what can I say. He's the nicest guy in cake decorating business that I've ever met. He's very very humble. He's soft spoken and very funny. He loved to joke around. I still have the "gooday Sheila" thingy going on in my mind. It's something that he and his friend (dang! I forgot her name) share when they talk to one another..anyways..

He's always trying to make things easier for people around him, and he's very easy to be with. I mean, I don't feel all that difficult to have conversations with him. And boy, did we talked! A lot. Him, Sathya and me. Our conversations, well, some revolved around flowers and his cats and music (hahaha) but mostly around social issues, including, the sensitive issues of religion and prejudices. I found him to be very open minded...which is quite refreshing really.

I'm very happy to have had the chance to sit in his class, not once, but twice. He's got plan to come down to Malaysia, maybe next year. But it's still not firmed yet. So...be ready, if you're his fan!!

I told Alan that I'm wanna have another class with him next year, and am trying to arrange a class with one of the master in royal icing there, also in spring next year..insyaallah. This time I'm bringing hubby and son with me.

With Alan and Sathya.

We joked about this sofa...

Alan's new book which is coming out in June 2010. I asked him for a copy, an I was so happy that he took the trouble of getting one for me... Thank you Alan!!

He even auto'ed it for me..owwwhhhh...(psst !! am not suppose to tell you bout this..but hey!! it's already June, so just a couple more days..)

I have in my collection now, a lot of Alan's books. He's got one coming out for Christmas, and he's already on a project of another book for next year. Good luck Alan! Have fun with the project. Can't wait for it!

I'm hoping to be able to sit down quietly and plan classes for this coming July an August. Those of you interested please let me know, coz I'm just gonna have small classes.

Off days

Bonda Cafe's Menu - quite impressive. Tapi kena cakap Chef Det - kurang masin kit ye.

The cosy insides of Bonda Cafe.

Si Hizz, part-timer kat Bonda giving me the fingers (heheh..kidding). You can only find him during weekends coz on other days, he's still doing his Master's Degree in Actuarial Science (betul ke eja ni Hizz?)

I snapped this before I caught the bus to Oxford Street

A park near our apartment.

Gorgeous colors

My take on London so far

The weather :

It's a really cold summer. Which is a bit odd, coz it is summer, and summer is suppose to scorching hot. But I'm glad it's cold. I like it cold than hot. It's a welcome change from the weather at home and the electricity bills we have to pay to stay cool. Anyways, I still hear people complain about the weather, everyday. They complain it's cold when it's 15C and they complain that it's hot when it's 23C. Please stop complaining. Just be grateful.

Took a walk to enjoy the weather.

The road from where I'm staying.
Restoran Bonda. Food is nice. Staff is great. Atmosphere fantastic.
But it ain't cheap. Thanks for the discounts though. (ooppsss..this pix should be up there but I cant move it, so biar je la kat sini)

Kak Yok or Mariani.

And her friend K. Ton. Nice ladies. They even treated me to breakfast and we chatted away. Few of the nice Msians I met here. There are a lot worse out there. Stucked up Msians who wouldn't even smile back at you or pass a kind look at you.
I love the flowers here.

If you ever need to stay here. Ehh..Salahudin Sir, commission please ye. Free advert ni!

Alan Dunn's previous work.

I like it here this time of year. The last time I was here wih Hubbs, was also during spring time. It's wonderful...the weather..I loike!! Alhamdulillah...

Apa2 pun, Malaysia still the best. There's nothing like home.

The phone call:

I'm missing my family like mad. I like Lycamobile. I call Hubbs n son everyday, many times for 1/2 hour at least. It only cost me the most 1 pound/call for about 40 mins. It's cheap!!

So far I've only used about 9 pounds kot. Call 3 times a day, !/2 hour. Kalau tengah boring lagi bnyk kali call. Next time you come here, use Lycamobile prepaid card. Highly recommended. And for local calls, it's free. They give you like 200 minutes free calls for every 5 pounds prepaid.

The people : Msians' abroad

I have to say, from personal experience that is, maybe 30% are nice and friendly, the rest is way below par where friendliness is concerned. I can't really understand why. I guess it's what London Malays are all about. I mean it's not like if you ever return my smile or my salam, you'd immediately have a lodger following you home. Puhleeez la...We're not that hard up for a conversation with you, just a smile back would be rather nice. They normally just shot a look back at you before turning away, or they just look thru you, as if you're never there. My smile usually hang about halfway, because of the speed that they turn they head around.

Had that bit of experience at Malaysian Hall and on the streets sometimes. I never return to Msian Hall again, and the food there is horrible.

But I'm staying positive. So far, the ones that I've met here at Paddington, they are quite nice people.

The people : Londoners

Well, I first half expected them to be a bit racist, especially after 9-11. And also I had this rather bad experience when we were in Gold Coast last year. They tend to look at you rather menacingly, they don't really serve you well at counters especially if they're kind is waiting behind us. So, I was rather afraid the same kind of treatment would be waiting for me here. I did enquire bout that from those who've lived here, but their answers seemed positive.

And so far, well they are as polite as they need to be. I'm not complaining though. It's totally not my lost if you decide to be indifferent to other races. But I had some wonderful experience though. I met this guy on the train to Farnham and it turned out he could speak Malay. So we chatted a bit on the bus and he was saying nice things about Msia and of course we talked about the weather...that's what they do quite often here apparently, talked about the weather.

My PME course mates were nice. One lady from Holland, she kept staring at me, and I could see she'd wanted to say something. So being me (I cant shut up!)..I asked her" Do you have anything you want to ask me?" Yes, she said. Is it about this? I pointed to my headscarf. Yes, she said...so we got on to talking about my headscarf and swimming suits while we waiting for our turns in the toilet. How is that?

And there was this English guy who said salam to me and went to say that his wife is a Turkish Muslim. So, of course, again being me, I asked him. You said your wife is a muslim, so you're not a muslim? Nope, I'm a strict Chatholic he said. So I went on asking all sorts of questions, till I felt it was getting personal and I stopped. (My husband always compares me to Susan of Desperate Housewives, you know, always gets into troubles with curiosity).

What I meant to say is that, if the non-muslim can be rather nice and friendly to me, why can't the Muslims be nicer to me. I mean, even the other muslims like Arabs or whatever, they cant be bother to answer my salam or smile back. Sheeessh..how are we suppose to be strong when we can't even do the simplest thing to our fellow muslims.. it's not a wonder why we are being pushed over.

But am not letting the few bad apples to dampen my positive views on the world. Perhaps, there's still hope. I'm hoping that when you read this, and you meet other people out there, regardless of races and religion, just be kind and smile first, or back. Let's make this world, which we only have one, a kinder gentler place to live in.

I agree with Maxi Priest - it's hard to get by just on smile now.

The transport : Tubes and buses

Well, what can I say? This is London and they're waaayy famous and proud of their underground trains and buses. But there's a lot of engineering works going on right now and on weekends especially, most of the lines are shut down and you'd have to take the buses to get to where you want to go. I have no complains, except maybe 1, but in general, the transport systems here is excellent, albeit a bit expensive.

I'm using the Oyster Card, where you load prepaid into. It can be used up to Zone 5 and you can use for tubes and buses. I usually take the weekly prepaids that covers zone 1-2 and it's cheaper than buying daily tickets. You can use it any time of day, unlimited for a week. It cost you bout BP28 i I think. I forgot. Anyways, it's cheaper and easier for me.

Food:

Well, you can find Msian food anywhere now, especially near the Paddington Area. There's Bonda Cafe, Delima Restaurant, Tok Din, Satay House etc. And about 3/4 km away to Edgware Road, there's plenty of halal middle eastern restaurant. There's also a halal Subway restaurant near Paddington (Bakerloo line) Station. It's quite easy nowadays. Per person's simple lunch with drinks will set you back about BP7-10. So be ready with loads of cash if you come with your family.

The weather : It's really nice and cool (sometimes very cold) summer which I thought is a bit odd. Summer days should be hot but it's not. So, if you have arthritis, I would say it's not a good time to be here during this time of year then....

But no matter how nice it is herSave Nowe, it's nothing like home. Hot and sticky home. I'm missing my family and my comforts..and my car and convenients...

PME Seminar

Julie Askew, the Editor of Cakes - Craft & Decorations drop by our class and she brought goodies!! We each got a copy of back issues of Cakes - Craft & Decoration Magazines and Wedding - Cakes & Sugar Flowers Magazine..yeay!!! Thanks Julie..you're a doll.

Class

Pat and Mel

Every morning, for the next four days, was to be a case of who gets there first. I meant the tube trains or me. If I was a bit late, I risk tipping the balance that is set at 8.45am Brimsdown Station. And so, for that I learnt to walk very very fast. I've never walked very fast back home, even if I was jogging, I just wasn't fast.

The first few days I was here, I often thought to myself, these Londoners, they always seemed hurried. Scattering around, often with coffee in one hand and I-phone or the Metro paper in the other, they walked very very fast, almost running at times. They seemed to always have somewhere to be, fast. And now, I know.

PME just moved their office from Harrow Road to Brimsdown Industrial Park in Enfield. It's a journey worth 1 hour and 15 minutes of my time, every morning, on the H&C line and the East Anglia Rail Trains.

On the first day I reached Brimsdown Station, I had no idea where I was supposed to go. Armed with an address and a hand luggage full of stuff, I made my way to the main road, vaguely remembering the map someone sent me earlier. I know I was supposed to go to the right. But then what?

The road was really quiet. I was early coz it was only 8 am. There was a black dude looking at me suspiciously, as I shot a look back at him, also with suspicion. I walked on, very fast. I saw a guy somewhere near a factory and asked him how to get to no 23, Jeffreys Road. He had no idea. Oh gosh!

Well, it's a good thing the Brits can't live without their maps. He took out his thick map book, and flipped through, and there it was. Jeffreys Road. I thank the gentleman and dragging my luggage in one hand, and a Nero Coffee in another, I continue my early morning adventure, finding PME.

After what seemed like the longest walk, I saw the sign, Jeffreys Road. I looked at the address, no 23. Man!! Why can't they settle for no 2 or 3? Why 23? I was sweating on that cold summer morning.

Dragging the bag on the tarred road made the loudest noise on a quiet morning. I think I could be heard all through Brimsdown. I passed no 1, and 2 and so on and so forth. These are factories mind you. So no 1 or 2 or next covered quite a large area of their own, including parking spaces..imagine how far away no 23 is....

As I appproached no 23, a car passed by me and made a turn. A lady came down and smiled at me. Hmmmm...I thought this must be someone from PME so I said " Are you Pat?" Yes she said, are you here for the seminar? Yep!! Did you walk from the station she chirped... Yes maam, I must've loose a few kilos there, I was trying to cover up my huffs and puffs nicely...after walking for almost 40 mins, I guess didn't quite do a good job.

I was the first one there. I settled down quickly, choosing a seat right in the center. Soon after, the other students began to walk thru the door. We introduced ourselves and sat our places while Pat got busy gathering her staff.

While settling down earlier I saw a guy that looked familiar. I've seen that shy face somewhere. So when Pat introduced Lisa Slatter and Tony, I quickly gathered it was Tony Warren. Oh my oh my!! Tony Warren! He's like, one of the leading master in sugar flower. I have one or 2 of his books, particularly the one he worked on with Tombi Pecks and Alan Dunn. Wow!! Just my luck that he was recruited on board to teach PME together with Lisa, taking over from Pat, who was, of course promoted to a busier position.

I went through the rest of the day, of course dreamily. Not because I was sleepy, but because here I was, taking in all I can, from the experts, in Cake Decorating industry. It's something that I've only dreamt of, until now. I mean, who am I really?. I'm still green in the industry compared to my colleagues here who attended the seminar.

Chineze (pronounced Che Ne Ze and not chinese) from Nigeria, she had been doing Cake decorating for more than 10 years, and has one of the largest school of cake deco in Nigeria. Efua, from Ghana, she has 100s of students graduating from her school every 6 months, especially from the Wilton course.

Jens from Germany, he had been doing this seriously (and he is a serious guy) for all his life. He's starting a Cake Deco Club back home with almost 6000 club members already available to sign up..

And the rest carried more or less the same kind of resume. We have a team from Ireland who owned a bakery and school, Indonesian team and one of them, Fatma also teaches in Malaysia and has already 2 books in her belt...and the list went on. All very impressive.

So I was feeling rather small. I should just take my seat and sit somewhere in the back, at a corner...but the group was great. They are great people. Humble and always helpful, and cheerful, (goshhh, we did laugh quite a bit there now, didn't we?) they made me felt like I was one of them. When I grow up, I want to be just like them..:-)

Jens (pronounced Yens)

Madam Chineze from Nigeria

the lovely and sleepy Madam Efua..hehehe sorry.

Group pix..(I know I looked rather large, but that's just camera trick)

PME International Teacher's Training Seminar -2

PME Seminar

One of the stations before Brimsdown. Looked like the KTMB one in Labu.

A view from the train.
Tony Warren at work, with Lisa Slatter. They took turns doing the demo before we had to go and do it ourselves.

Chineze, posing for the camera, while Jens looked on.

Our entrance to the hotel for dinner.
A view from another angle.

The hotel's entrance.

2 members of the Irish team.

We were all smiles and laughs that night.

I was sitting at the table with the Irish team and Lisa when I started taking pictures of everyone at our table, soon everyone at the bar and sofas joined us with their cameras and it was quite a long photo shoot after that..hahaha...we really had a good time...laughing all the time. The Irish team, Myra, Theresa, Kathleen, OMG, I cant remember the other 3, were all so funny and were constantly cracking up something wise. I think they were the funniest group at the seminar.

Pat & her team organised a dinner for us at the De Vere Hotel in Herfordshire. I thoroughly enjoyed the night. It gave us a chance to loosen up a bit and get to know more about each other. Jens was telling me about the baking industry in Germany and about the many ICES that he had attended. He's a really dedicated person and he's really neat too. He didn't just clean up his table, but he helped us (voluntarily that is) to clean our messy tables too, especially Efua's. Her's is the messiest. Sorry Efua..hehehe...

Tony Warren at work

We were snaping pix of his flowers and he quipped to Lisa "no ones taking my picture". I heard that and I said let me. So here he was laughing saying, hey I was just kidding...hehehe..I snapped u anyways Tony.

Lisa Slatter Deputy Head of Cake Deco School and very famous Sugarcrafter (you can find her works in the Cakes Magazine and also Wedding Cakes, A Design Source Magazines), Pat Trunkfield (Head of Cake Deco School and one of PME's Director - congratulations Pat), Mr. Salish (I'm so sorry if I get this wrong, please correct me) - MD of PME School of Cake Deco, and Tony Warren - a master in Sugar Craft and Sugar Flower.

Flanked by Tony Warren and and Lisa Slatter during my proud moment. Try beating that!!

Everyone was so proud of their achievements. Congratulations all!!

We are now officially trained by PME. We'll just have to wait for Pat to approve us and make us their Certified PME trainers (but I already knew that I am...) yeayyy!!!

Am not posting what we did in the PME Seminar coz you'll just have to sign up with me to find out!! Check out the Schedules with Sugarflours.