Optifit bra

 

I have been looking for a good bra for years. In between bouts of raging at the sellers of the instruments of torture that we are currently mostly forced into. I listened to the outer and inner voices that told me that my body/breasts were wrong

The thought of having a bra that fits well is almost beyond my imagining. A few years ago I decided that I wasn't going to wear bra's any more. The underwires, were cutting into me and the skin next to my armpit and under my boobs was starting to look like I had developed my own manner of self mutilation. 

The very expensive bra's I was forced to buy had to be replaced at least three times a year and only because the underwires would fight their way out of the upper closure. There was no way to get them to stay in once they were through the fabric. I spent probably weeks over the years sewing tiny pieces of material onto the ends of the sockets only to have them wear through. I bought plastic tips which were supposed to keep them in but they (like pretty much every thing in the clothes market) were made for a smaller size.

I managed around 6 weeks without a bra in the NL - I often don't wear one in the UK when I am there and it is not a problem - the visious stares and pseudo sotto voce nasty comments wore me down and I began to search for bra's with no underwires. After three disatrous attempts to get them from the states I eventually bought one from the UK - all of them were too small, all of them were around the 50 euro mark - not including postage.

Having started a proper job I knew I needed to find a new bra solution. For years I have tried to find a made to measure bra company that I could afford. The average quoted price was around 300 pounds and always with underwires.

Then a few weeks ago I came across optifit. It seemed a bit good to be true. But I contacted the number and had the most amazing conversation with Sue McDonald the co owner of the business and designer of the bras http://www.optifitbra.com/. 

We talked about fashion, history, the (ab)use of women's body to sell products that damage and cause pain, the ignored body/breast shape differences and the abnormalizing of non European body shapes/sizes. Amazing! 

You can check out the piece I wrote after my first conversation with her at Goddess is anima. 

Sue said the best thing for your boobs, back, hips, shoulders whatever your breast shape and size is not to wear a bra! 

But as we are suckers for our own (and each other's) oppression. She sent me the info and instrument (optimeasure) to measure my boobs. 

Everything comes in these gorgeous shiny purple envelopes. When the measure arrived I looked at if for the best part of a week before getting it out. While waiting I checked out the videos on you tube. When I opened my package I knew what I was getting and what I was supposed to do with it - and it still wasn't easy. as suggested i did it three times my self and then another three times with my partner

I have to say that while it was really easy and super efficient to put my measurements onto the website (and Sue had seen them the next morning when I phoned), I couldn't work out how to place an order for a bra, so I phoned to give her the credit card details. 

After our first conversation I felt very secure about phoning Sue again and chatting with her. She really is always willing to help - she didn't agree with my measurements and made a couple of alterations. The bra arrived within a week of ordering and again it took me quite a while of looking at the envelope before I dared open it - I was really nervous about being disapointed again.

So now into my second week of wearing the bra and just about to order another I realised I hadn't actually written the three part blog I was intending with tales of finding, measuring and fitting.

another phone conversation and the sending of some photos was necessary to reassure me (though I am not convinced) that the bra is the right size. We agreed some slight adjustments for the next order as I was not going to send it back to be altered - it will do, it's better than anything else I've got or have had for a long while.

I have the best shape I have ever had with a bra. There are no underwires and no scarring but I still can't wait to get in a take it off when I get home (Free the Two!) After an all night party I was very aware of the upper back/shoulder ache that Sue says is to do with my body being pushed into better alignment

Did I say that these made to measure miracles are under the 60 euro mark at 50 pounds - plus postage - which I guessed and over payed for the bra - but the 'optimeasure' was sent for free and cost more than the bra to post!

Club AIR, Amstelstraat 16, 1017 DA Amsterdam, Netherlands - Moda Black - 26 March 2016

What a horrible, nasty, shitty, shitty club.
Rip off puck up joint!
Staff are rubbish. Unfriendly, unhelpful and bar service is miserable, slow. They let people push in front all the time at the entrance and at the bar.
To add insult to injury neither dj could spin! The bar upstairs was some excuse playing uninspiring records and spending most of his time at the bar. downstairs the vj was banal, offensively sexist and not even hot - which would have excused the sexism. The two dancers couldn't dance and the dj was worse than my four year old nephew. We did our best but dancing was pretty impossible to such mediocre mixing.
Which might not be a problem as no one seems to go there to dance anyway!
I should probably add that a friend with us - Polish living in UK was upset by the obvious racism of both staff and clientèle towards people of colour throughout the place!

De Betere Tijden, Gelkingestraat 21, 9711 NA Groningen, Netherlands

Nice, friendly, good service.
Food is OK, not special but, a very reasonable price most around 10 euros. In comparison I thought the Chef's special at 12.50 was over priced (absolutely not complaining!) Not generous portions definitely adequate.
I asked about the changing stuffing on the mushroom and was told red peppers (paprika) and pesto - I checked if it was basil pesto (yes) which struck me as not something I was even willing to try!
I really don't understand burgers with no flavouring but that is apparently how people make them here. A slab of lightly cooked mince with not even salt and pepper doesn't do it for me
We had 6 burgers, with (bad, cheap) cheddar and roseval potatoes which were cooked but still pale. I don't do bread, without the generous crusty bap, the patty looked quite sad. There was no lettuce or tomato, gherkin, ketchup, or mayo with the burger, a goodly side garnish kinda made up for it.
There was supposed to be some kind of beet salad but it wasn't on the plate!
One of us had the Hungarian sauerkraut, it came with a gehakt ball that was more than 40% breadcrumbs, the flavour of the saurkraut was good but it was a small portion.
The cheese plate was laughable! Tiny little squares of pecorino and belgen, some small sliced of too cold, too young brie (no flavour) and more garnish and fruit than cheese - but it was only 5 euros, I would rather pay a bit more and get a bit better
The wine was fabulous - we had the most expensive which at 21 a bottle did not break the bank. it was a lovely Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon
Shame all the tap beers were so strong.
I don't think I'd go again.
They were really cool about us making a fair amount of noise while we played dice.
I recommend it for anyone with a low budget or if you've had some horrid experiences with people being rude or unfriendly but, if money isn't an issue , and you don't need a safe haven and would like some great nosh - try somewhere else

Medini Cafe @ Groninger museum

This placed typified everything that drives me crazy about this country and its version of service
Very nice placement over the water, the café is part of the iconic Groninger museum building. Inside leads directly into the museum with a sunny terrace outside.

The terrace doesn't have enough chairs! Two chairs per table is not enough. We spent the time we were there after we'd finally got somewhere to sit with all seven of us watching people play musical chairs without the music.
to add insult to injury - if you moved you were as near as damn it insulted and then humiliated by the waitress for messing up their ordering system. Which was also dreadful an average of 15 minutes to get a drink which is ridiculous especially when it was one beer which by the time it arrived had no head and was flat.

We arrived at 13.15 on a Saturday and ordered gin and tonics from someone who had no qualms making it non verbally very clear that she did not approve of the order! When the drinks arrived 20 minutes later there was no ice.
I asked for ice, the (different waitress to bring the drinks) avoided answering until the third request and finally as she was leaving she tossed over her shoulder that 'we don't have ice".
We dribbled out of the exhibition slowly and went back to the café - no new chairs, even more people standing around tables, waiting for others to leave to be able to use them and many people sitting around the big concrete placements for the umbrellas.

We ordered a fish and chips to stave of the hunger while everyone came back. It looked fantastic. the batter was way to thick and only just cooked in the middle and very sweet, the fish was in tiny blocks in the batter chewy and over cooked. The tartar/remoulade was way too sweet, too much dill, not enough gherkins and not enough for the fish and the chips. The chips were good - very small portion!

 Ordered a second round of g&t's and asked about the ice again to be told directly "we do not have or serve ice" I was gobsmacked and asked why - which was ignored.

When the drinks came they had no lemon - which I found really too much I asked for some lemon and for some reason also some ice. Everyone reminded me that the head waitress had already told us they didn't have it. At which point the (third) waitress came back with two glasses of ice with lemon in them!

So on top of being unfriendly, judgemental, rude, incompetent and surly they are also liars!

I put this review on google with a fat 1 star!

Exhibition 'DRAWING WORK' @ CBK Amsterdam Zuid Oost, Anton de Komplein 120, 1102 DR

Thursday 25^th February until 26^th March Donderdag 25 februari te zien t/m 26 maart

An exhibition with the work of 17 international artists about work and work experiences Een tentoonstelling met tekeningen van 17 internationale kunstenaars over werk-en arbeidservaring

Lezing: do 3 maart 17:30 tot 18:30 uur Tekenworkshop: zat 5 maart 14 tot 17 uur

Last night I went to the opening of the above – I had to go. I was commissioned by the curator and one of the contributing artists Siobhan Wall to write a couple of pieces about 'Work'. I did a text performance and the pieces are to be included in the exhibition.

I am writing a review, not because I was in it or because you can see some of my writing but because although, I spent a large part of the evening doing my best to drink as much red wine as possible, it was a super experience because the selections of work were brilliant, sometimes challenging, funny, inspiring and very thought provoking.

My absolute all time favourite(s) were the 3d cut outs by Marleen Kappe. These looked almost impossible to photograph (so I was like, if I can't take photos of this one/these why take any!). They showed industrial and possibly film or theatre work situations. They are so difficult to describe I'm not even going to bother saying any more than that. The link to her website will give you an idea but they honestly do need to be seen 'live' to really 'get them'. http://www.marleenkappe.nl/

I can't think of anyone other than Siobhan who would have included portraits of homeless refugees. No longer in danger of being sent back but denied the opportunity of working and contributing to the society to which they have been forced to flee. Not being able (allowed) to work is also relevant to exploring work.

There were a few of the works that really stood out for me. They made me spend the latter part of the evening travelling to and at the Bimhuis trying to convince everyone I spoke to to go and see.

I had struggled the whole evening between making photos and not doing so. There were a number of professional photographers, including Siobhan and I thought it was much better to try and get some of those to put with this review than twitting about with my mobile and doing everyone an injustice.

I like seeing art. I don't make enough time to do it. One of the reasons is I know so clearly what I like and why. I rarely see stuff that I like, so all most people (especially my partner) ever hear is me ripping someone or others work that I don't like to pieces. Last night was a welcome relief. I was 'mwah' about a fair amount, but the joy of finding so many exhibits that made me feel enthusiastic was wonderful.

One was a collection of doodles – they reminded me of stuff that I, my sister and partner do! Is there a basic doodling universal style? Loved that they were on post it notes and office paper. Some were free hand geometric later reproduced with compass and rulers. Most were pencil or pen and a small group were coloured in.

The cartoons exploring women, career, and parenting were really well drawn, spot on commentaries and hilarious.

A wall of images of black men was poignant, the text; words to the effect that they didn't want their photos taken so their mothers wouldn't know they were homeless but a drawing or painting was OK. Their inclusion was a super subtle, damning of our world.

Some of the art was from photographs – not really keen on that. I'm like, why bother? For a portrait OK but to present a a painting or drawing when it's always soooo obvious you're just reproducing a photo – I don't get it. You may call me a peasant.

Due to the amount of drinking, a lack of pen and paper and my reluctance to take photos with my phone. I didn't get (remember) the names of the other artists whose work I really liked.

Marleen Kappe has the opening Drie Tekeningen exposities the small format section 5^th March at Witteveen Visual art Centre 17.00

 and here's me reading with the photos of the processed asylum seekers as background

photos: Marleen Kappe and Siobhan Wall

Melizioso© dinner

Delicious food is my passion so I felt privileged this evening to be invited to partake of a Melizioso© dinner. The menu; coq au vin, sautéed mushrooms and pan fried crispy creamy polenta.

The coq au vin was truly amazing, multi layered flavours of an authentic chicken braised in wine sauce with veg. The texture of the slow cooked chicken thigh, flavoured and softened to fall off the bone was perfection. 

 

Many would of course not eat it but for the lovers of rich food... (if fat makes you squeamish skip the this line!) The beautifully browned and deliciously (never thought I would say that) soft skin was the perfect accompaniment to the meat. The divinely intricate flavouring of the sauce was rich, thick, with caramelised onion, slightly sweet omami, herby and permeated with a berry twanged wine. The rich brown colours of the sauce and onions were lifted by julienne carrots. Sauteed button mushrooms were cooked and served separately.

At some point in the past I decided that I like to separate starch and protein as a preference rather than a rule. As such I will in a meal with both, eat the protein first and find that an ideal second choice for after dinner digestion. I have also learnt that having seconds (of protein) trashes the work before. When offered seconds tonight I was amazed to find myself choosing to avoid risking a bloat so I could continue to enjoy the lingering play of the after flavours around my taste buds. Which is a prelude to describing the star of the evening.....

When I arrived for dinner Melissa apologised for the polenta, which she was frying as I entered. She had a vision in her mind of the polenta being much firmer but would have needed more hours in the day to have had the time to pre cook it earlier as needed. The fact that it had been very recently cooked gave the polenta the most amazing contrast between the crispy, cheesy pan fried exterior and the tasty, creamy interior. With the sauce and mushrooms it was the perfect foil and utterly delicious on it's own.

Melivision© provides artistic services; interior design, art and daughter company Melizioso© luckily for me, do food. An intimate dinner for two or not intimate with eight, a banquet, a (wedding) party, conference? Whatever the occasion, if you can't or don't want to make it your self you can get delicious, well made, healthy food with options for a huge range of diets. Coeliac, vegan, pescatarian? No problem! Carb free, gluten free, sugar free. No problem! 

 

Not being much into desserts and having foresworn chocolate you'd need to look elsewhere to find out about the apple and other fruit pies, brownies etc. but I will mention the pizza (she now also does a carb free verion!), the foccacia and the risotto.

However it's such a long time since I tasted her pasta I can't remember any more – hint, hint!

See -  https://www.facebook.com/Melivision2014

Cihan - Food centre Hoofdweg 578 a & b 1055AB Amsterdam NL

I've been going to the Cihan for more than 10 years but they just hit the third strike and they're out!

First was a while back, the manager I think, definitely someone who was asked to solve problems, was wearing a pair of the new fashionable low cut jeans, it looked like a family of spiders was crawling over the waistband. the mama was a giant piece of bum fluff and the babies were the hair springing out of him bum crack! I couldn't go back until this week. 

There was a new guy there, never seen him before. Began positive; the first time I ever went in there and didn't have to wait an age to get served at the deli counter. Bad news the guy was a jerk, the smallest container is now more than double the size it previously was and in addition to him totally ignoring the meaning of “just a small amount please”, he also hassled to sell more, I mean really hassled. I got to the till and found I had spent more than 30 euros!

I made a point of getting the receipt and for some reason, for the first time ever, when I got home I weighed everything I had bought. Not one of the weights that was on the receipt was the same. To be on the safe side I used both of our sets of scales to weigh them – the scales agreed with each other, neither agreed with the receipt both of them showed the ingredients as lighter.

To be fair I phoned the guy. He told me to come back the next day with photos but, made no promise to reimburse me, just to 'check it out'. 

Their scales seemed to be out about 15-40 grams on each item. All the ingredients cost the same kilo price (which has go up to 12.50!) I bought five items to be weighed but there were only 3 weights shown, the first one was 840 grams which is a lot, plus two more of over 250 and almost 300. There was no combination of the containers that came to the first sum and none of them singly were as much as the other two.

I will shop elsewhere. If you shop there, try weighing your stuff again at home!