Claire Maxwell recommends (From Watford Observer)

Claire Maxwell recommends

11:18pm Monday 8th November 2010

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1. Foxes Extremely Chocolately cookies. Give me a moment while I wipe the saliva puddle from my keyboard. Only moments ago did I fill my cheeks with one of those circular slices of heaven (I should point out it did not stay in my cheeks for long, that would be weird, and an ineffective way of eating). And this was after declaring that I could not possibly eat one more bite of my spaghetti Bolognese and consuming a large piece of lemon cheesecake. There is a lesson to be learnt here, no matter what you may or may not have eaten previously, there will always be an extremely chocolately cookie shaped hole somewhere deep within you. And I mean that just as philosophically as it sounds.

2. The Event, Channel 4’s new crime/thriller series. In my opinion it is the new Lost/24/FlashForward/you get the idea. Except it’s sort of a mixture of them all, collecting only the very best elements and slinging them together in an ingenious way. Securing sympathy towards the characters, moments that could be deemed dangerous to heart patients and that necessary ‘what the ****?’ atmosphere. (But not in that annoying I’ve-been-watching-this-series-for-4-months-now-and-I-still-don’t-know-the-name-of-the-main-character-let-alone-why-everyone-just-exploded way that FlashForward thought might be a good idea). It’s excellent, and the main guy is both endearing and quite the looker. At its best watched with tea and biscuits (see above).

3. Zizzi’s margherita pizzas. I could eat them all day long. Doing star-jumps while your eating it means there’s no calories though right? Good.

4. Brighton. I had never been there before my boyfriend moved there 2 months ago, and I am now in love. I adore cities anyway; the hustle and bustle and the top notch people watching opportunities have me all a-flutter. But Brighton is one of a kind. It has the atmosphere of London, but without the added element of: ‘where are we? I’m sure I’ve seen that doorstep before. But that tree is definitely greener than the one we walked past an hour ago. Hang on, let me get my map out’ before side punching an outraged man in the face, apologising sheepishly and spending all your shopping money on a taxi to take you back to where you started. Brighton has it all, the popular high street stores down one easy-to-navigate road, the boutiques and vintage shops down quirky lanes, abundant restaurants and coffee shops, and the sea, transforming your city experience into something completely absent of that dirty, polluted feeling you get in most. I think every time I go my mum is a little worried I am not going to return.

5. Marian Keyes. Although I am mildly ashamed to admit that my favourite books are none other than the mighty chick-lit I am not ashamed to tell you that this brilliant lady is my favourite author. She is funny and entertaining while addressing the issues we all want to talk about. I say ‘all’, maybe just 13-25 year old girls who are a-little-bit-shallow. Whatever, she’s a talent and if I could one day be half the writer she is I will be a very contented girl.

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