Doctor, Doctor, I'm sick of being ill...

This sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but I am fed up of feeling ill. I have been so lethargic and drained of energy for months and it means I have no energy to do anything, even if I had the inclination... I went to the surgery on campus the other week and they did a load of blood tests, and the results were "inconclusive" , meaning that I don't even have a name to give my mystery illness.

 
 I think I need some T.L.C and a doctor like this one...
  
In slightly happier news though, I found out that I have an interview for the Civil Service Fast Stream which I am excited and terrified about in equal measures :S It is REALLY competitive but if I could get this internship then I would have my foot in the door for when I graduate.Luckily I have a couple of weeks to prepare but I don't think I will ever feel 100% ready but I guess everyone will be in the same boat. I must be doing something right for them to have picked me though (I hope!) so I have nothing to lose by going for it, right? Yesterday in Tesco I managed to find a dress which I think will be absolutely perfect for my interview. It fits like a dream and manages to be both professional looking and flattering. The best part about it though was definitely the price...a bargainalicious £13! I think it looks very much like the Carmontelle dress from Victoria Beckham's AW09 collection but without the designer price tag :)

 
I have to admit, I was fretting about what I should wear as the email said 'smart-casual' which is a sartorial minefield! I also wanted to look both professional and feminine, without compromising my usual style of dresses and skirts, a task that is more difficult than it sounds. I will just dress it down with my new necklace and some flats I think. 
  
 I will keep you posted on how my interview goes...keep your fingers crossed for me please little bloglets! :)

You turn my world upside down

It seems that when things are looking down, cake is the answer. Yesterday was no exception to this rule and so, after multiple and prolonged panics over the unfinished state of our Uni work, we decided to make an impromptu Pineapple Upside-Down Cake to cheer ourselves up and boy did it work. It was just fab; not too sweet, perfectly pineapple-y and moist but not soggy. So good in fact that one of the cakes has already been demolished... sorry cake number two but your days are limited.

Butter for greasing
2 x 15ml tbsp sugar
6 slices pineapple from a 425g can, plus
3 x 15ml tbsp of the juice
11 glacé cherries, approx. 75g total weight
100g flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g soft butter
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Butter a tarte Tatin tin (24cm wide at the top and 20cm diameter at the bottom) or use a 23cm cake tin (neither loosebottomed nor springform).
2 Sprinkle 2 tbsp sugar onto the buttered base, and then arrange the pineapple slices to make a circular pattern as in the picture. 
3 Fill each pineapple ring with a glacé cherry, and then dot one in each of the spaces in between. 
4 Cream together the butter and sugar before sifting in the flour. Mix in the eggs and then pour in the 3 tbsp pineapple juice to think it a little.

 
 
5 Pour this mixture carefully over the cherry-studded pineapple rings; it will only just cover it, so spread it out gently. 
6 Bake for 30 minutes, then ease a spatula around the edge of the tin, place a plate on top and, with one deft – ha! – move, turn it upside-down. 
 
  

Nom

 
and