The people behind Bear Coffee Company kindly invited me and 4 of my friends to the opening of their new store in Derby. This is only their first new venue since their original shop opened in Uttoxeter in 2016 so they are a relatively new company since being founded in 2014. 

Upon walking in the thing I first noticed was the alternative layout of the bar compared to the conventional way. The bar/counter was centred in the middle of the room with the seating area to one side and the majority of bar stools to the other. There was surprisingly good lighting in there as well.  considering most modern coffee shops think its 'cool' to basically make you drink your coffee in the dark.  

I thought I'd start with a classic cappuccino. Our server informed us that the baristas strive for perfection on the drink side of things. If a coffee doesn't come out perfect they will just throw it away and start again. There was a 20 minute wait for our drinks but was understandable since the place was completely full and it was the first time the workers experience the pressure of a busy flow of customers. When the coffee arrived it had a well-made design decorating the top and the actual coffee was quite strong. It didn't stand out as much as I would have liked it to but it wasn't a bad coffee. At £2.60 I'd say it's an average price at today's standards. I sneaked a bit of my friend's Salted Caramel Shake and wow was it good. You'd need a sweet tooth to be able to handle the whole thing. Now, let's get onto the food...

For food, I ordered the Eggs Benedict. Never had this dish before and didn't really know what it was but I took a chance when I saw it on the menu. English muffin, bacon, poached egg, spinach and hollandaise sauce. Did I regret opting for this? Not at all. The sauce that topped the eggs was phenomenal and the entire thing really does fill you up. I think I've found a new favourite meal. At a price of £7.00, it's definitely something I would have again. 

Although the service was obviously going to be slow on their "trial-run" day, we felt welcomed and comfortable. Very friendly staff who were easy to talk to and have a laugh with. We even tried a Mexican wave at one point to get the waitress' attention (it worked).

Although I didn't try the other food my friends did have some comments. One friend, who ordered the BEAR breakfast loved the food but said the choice of bread was a bit too hard and crunchy. Another friend ordered the veggie BEAR which again was nice but he didn't feel was big enough since there wasn't much of a substitution for the meat ingredients in the main Bear Breakfast. My other 2 friends enjoyed the all American pancakes which they had nothing bad to say about what so ever!

I'm not going to beat around the bush, I'm 100% going back again. Until next time, BEAR!

Daisy Ridley, Johnny Depp, Kenneth Branagh, Dame Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Josh Gad... the stars go on. Seeing any of these names popping up in cinema would catch your eye, let alone all together. Sadly though, star-studded films have a reputation of under performing at the box office. Big, big hopes come crashing down when the film gets released. But does Murder on the Orient Express follow this seemingly doomed genre? No. Absolutely not.

Wikipedia's synopsis for the film is (with spoilers removed):

"In 1930s Europe, famed detective Hercule Poirot boards the legendary Orient Express for a small break in between cases. While on board, he meets an interesting assortment of characters. A fellow passenger implores Mr. Poirot to assist him while on the train as he fears for his well-being, though Poirot respectfully declines. The next morning, the passenger is found stabbed to death. With the train halted due to snow build up on the tracks, and with the evidence and suspects piling up, Poirot finds himself diving into a case that could be his biggest yet." - Souce

I went into this film not knowing what to expect. I'm a big fan of Daisy Ridley and Judi Dench but I also know not to rely on a film being exceptional by judging purely on it's cast. I'll be honest, when the film first began my first thoughts were not good. I thought director and star, Kenneth Branagh, over-acted in his role at first. His monologue 5-10 minutes into the film seemed out-of-place and unnecessary, especially for a character many viewers would have only just been introduced to.

My initial quarrels were quickly scattered though through Kenneth Branagh's later performance as Hercule Poirot. His well timed quips along with a beautiful accent made for a likeable and intriguing character. I had no prior knowledge to the story before seeing this film. Never read the book, never watched a series or film. This was all brand new.



Johnny Depp's performance disappointed. I'm not a fan of Depp as a person but I do know he is a phenomenal actor. I loved him in Edward Scissor Hands and Pirates of the Caribbean. However, he was not right for the part in this film. His acting seemed as though any old, amateur actor could have done the job. Despite this though - the film was saved by the amazing performances by the rest of the cast.

As is expected with a murder-mystery film I spent the majority of the time trying to figure out some logical explanation for 1 of the passengers being the culprit. But did I ever guess it? Not even close. The final revelation of who committed the murder took me by surprise, and it will do the same to you. My one piece of advice before going to see this film? Because you should go and see it. Forget everything you know about Murder on the Orient Express and Murder Mystery films in general.

Rating - 8/10

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The folks over at Spektrum Glasses recently contacted me asking if I'd like to try out a couple of their blue light blocking specs! As I look at screens almost every second of the day I decided these would be perfect for me to try and use. That and my fondness for free stuff....

Spektrum glasses come in 2 main types: 50% and 99% blue light blocking. Their main purpose is, you guessed it, to block out different wave lengths of blue light. Blue light is considered a high-energy wave of light due to it's shorter wave length, meaning it's frequency is higher. Almost all smart screens nowadays give off some form of blue light. It has been argued and researched that prolonged exposure to blue light can affect your sleeping patterns and damage parts of your eye.

The 2 pairs I have received are at the 50% blocking level. Their site states that this level of blocking is suitable for people who need to block out blue light in the middle of the day, when the light takes the least effect on our bodies. These would be suitable for office workers, IT workers and students, or just people who use their phone a lot during the day. The 99% level variety is aimed more towards night users, where the effect of blue light is at it's most dangerous. These are suitable for night workers, nights owls or purely for people who like to browse through Facebook and Reddit in bed. Using the glasses should help you sleep after flicking through multiple screens.

Anyway, in addition to blocking blue light, the Spektrum Glasses offer a number of other helpful features. These include protection against UV lights, screen glare/flickering and even EM ray blocking. Starting to sound more like a Sci-Fi tech-fangled contraption.

These are one of the normal pairs of glasses, great for people who use contact lenses or just have good eyesight in general. Looking almost like a normal pair or prescription glasses, these fit comfortably around your face and sit lightly, hardly being able to notice they're there. These retail at $39.95. 

Fellow glasses wearers will agree with me here. Wearing glasses on top of glasses sucks. From goggles in a Science lab to have the buy 3D tickets to The Last Jedi because that's all they have to offer on opening night... so these clips are a great substitute! They fit perfectly ad securely around the nose of my glasses, barely noticeable due to the lack of frame around the lenses. Great for sitting at home on my PC blogging and doing uni work. Selling for $37.95 these could be a bit pricey for a casual screen user but for someone who has to look at screens most of the time they could prove to be a lifesaver.

Fancy a pair for yourself? Checkout their collection here!