World Cup Widows' Weekend

Do you ever have one of those weekends where you feel like you need a weekend to get over it? Well this Monday, I feel like I could do with a couple of days to recover!

With the World Cup now in full swing, my World Cup Widows and I celebrated by kicking it off with a proper girlie weekend. First stop after work on Friday was Pizza Express on Belmont Street with my friend Lucy. We had a great catch up over pizza and pinot before heading round to check out the newest bar on the block, Bos’n. When I heard that Enigma had closed down and the 10 Dollar Shake chaps (also known for The Tippling House) were planning to open Aberdeen’s only pop-up rum bar I was quite excited. And to top it off, the Eat Beetroot team (better known for Adelphi Kitchen and The Courtyard) were going to be providing the street food bar snacks; well that was just the icing on the cake! It’s safe to say that by the time our friends Alex and Claire arrived, Lucy and I had enjoyed so many of the rum cocktails we were close to thinking we were pirates! Note: please drink rum and be pirates responsibly. When you head to Bos’n (which I think you should) you must try their frozen margarita and their take on the Zombie cocktail. Oh, and order some cod croquettes and lamb quesadillas to soak up the rum – they are yum!

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On the Saturday morning, the four girls made our way out to Aberdeenshire for the Banchory Antique, Vintage & Collectable’s Fair (held monthly at the Burnett Arms Hotel) and the Midsummer at Mar Lodge events. I think we’re pretty lucky in Aberdeen with the variety of markets we have, and I particularly love the Candybelle, March Hare and Ministry of Crafts markets. But it was great to have a bit of change of scenery and head out in to our beautiful countryside for a couple of different ones. My friend Claire and I bought a couple of lovely tea sets from a really friendly lady at the Banchory event before carrying on out to Braemar. If you have been to Mar Lodge you will agree that going up the driveway for the first time is quite breath-taking. And inside the building itself is also quite extraordinary – the décor in the ballroom is quite something. While at the Midsummer event (run by Blythe Events) we enjoyed a juicy venison burger as well as a delicious afternoon tea. These were both cooked and prepared by National Trust for Scotland staff and volunteers with the proceeds being raised for the Mar Lodge. Eventually, with fuller tummies and lighter purses, we decided it was time to head back to the city.

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And when I say “city”, I mean Sing City. This is the newest addition to the Club Tropicana and Vogue group. The karaoke room and bars is a great place to gather your friends together and enjoy a sing-a-long (or in our case, a screech-a-long)! There are 6 state of the art karaoke rooms, all decorated in a different city theme. So whether you wish to party in Las Vegas, London, New York, Paris, Sydney or Tokyo, you and your friends will have a hoot! The bar staff will even come and take your drinks order and bring it you so you can maximize your singing time. When the plug was eventually pulled on our mics, we boogied on upstairs in Vogue (Aberdeen’s only 90’s club). Alex and Lucy were staying at the Thistle Caledonian, so the next morning I met them for breakfast (a full Scottish, of course) before they unfortunately had to hop on a train back home.

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My girlie weekend didn’t stop there though. I had a fun Sunday evening planned with my friends Claire, Jackie and Louise. Before heading to the AECC to see Dolly Parton in her Blue Smoke concert, we went to Shri Bheemas in Bridge of Don for a curry. The team there are taking part in to the Aberdeen Curry Awards this year, and we were more than happy to nominate them for an award – the service was as great as the food. But it was now the time we were all waiting for – it was Dolly time! And boy, she didn’t disappoint! She was lovely chatting away with the sold out crowd and making jokes. I was so refreshing to see that she doesn’t take herself too seriously. And when she sang Little Sparrow, with the help of only her backing singers, you could have heard a pin drop. Wow! And of course she sang some of her greatest hits including Jolene and Islands in the Stream. But it was when 9 to 5 kicked in the crowd really went wild! Before she bid us farewell she serenaded us with the all-time favourite love song, I Will Always Love You.

I don’t know about you but I feel like I need to lie down after all that! Now, what’s on in Aberdeen this weekend …?

All information is correct at the time of publishing, we recommend that you check opening times and information for individual places before visiting.