The Star Wars films have always shown the Jedi in the heat of battle, but do you know what they do when they are done? Once they are back home in the Jedi Temple? You may find some answers in the Star Wars quiz here but everything else that Jedi’s do on a day to day basis is explained next. Well, their day would start like anyone else’s, by waking up (at the break of dawn) and getting clean. But what then? A Jedi is (at their core) still nothing more than a monk with a lightsabre. So meditation and lots of it. Attuning themselves to the flow of the force could take a Jedi the better part of their morning, and that is a lot of time to remain completely motionless. So what comes after?

Breakfast. Something that varies depending on which Jedi is eating. Whilst some are vegetarian, others are more than happy to eat meat. It is a dietary choice that hinges a lot on what species the Jedi in question is. Regardless, after feeding, it is time for exercise. The exercise of a Jedi can come about in a number of ways. They could enter the aerobic chamber, and complete a number of strenuous exercises that take place over the course of a near impossible obstacle course. The completion of this course would of course call upon the use of the force. Otherwise, there is lightsabre practise.


Lightsabre practise would be taught to all students from an early age by a range of different but equally skilled instructors, each themselves accomplished Jedi. Here the Jedi would be taught many different styles and variations of lightsabre combat that focus differently on offence, defence and agility (known as forms I-VI). Once proficient in lightsabre combat (or at least one specific form) the Jedi will hone their skill with their weapon, sparring with equally skilled padawans or more adept masters in order to master their craft.


After the physical exercise comes the mental. Jedi are known for being keepers of the peace throughout the galaxy, and are expected to have an incredible understanding of all things political, geographical and sociological. This means hours studying different cultures and star maps in the Jedi library, consulting the resident experts on each topic afterwards so that the Jedi in question is thoroughly educated. Of course, these are not the only mental exercises that a Jedi can undertake. Often, they meet with Jedi masters who instruct them on how to attune themselves better with the force and through doing so, achieve new abilities. These can be anything from manipulating minds to throwing around objects with their mind-the force is the Jedi’s first ally after all.


Once the day is done there is always time for socialising with other Jedi in your barracks, perhaps even a game of skorch (a Jedi version of racquetball) and then, to cap it all off, more meditation. The force must be respected at all costs, and much of the Jedi’s time is spent growing closer to it. 
All in all, a Jedi’s day off is completely different to what we see in the movies. Less daring heroics and more quiet contemplation, it is no surprise to know that these hours off haven’t been shown in the films so far.


I’m pretty sure that anyone embarking on a holiday with me dreads it from the second it gets booked. It’s not that I’m accident prone as such, but I do seem to be a magnet for stupidity- namely my own. Thankfully there’s only been one occasion where I’ve come back from a trip abroad injured. I’d like to say I had an amusing, adventurous story but fact is I got tripped down a flight of steps in Zara whilst visiting family in Holland and wound up walking on a semi-healed fracture in my foot for six months…yeah. I didn’t dare tell anyone when I planned a para-sailing excursion when last in Spain!

It looks like I’m not the only one who attracts disaster though, this infographic from the My Voucher Codes team shows that Brit’s abroad quite often ends in trouble.

Ill and ill minded – An infographic by the team at Where Brits get into trouble abroad

I thought given that the holiday season is now drawing to a close (four weeks and counting until it’s my turn!) I’d ask what your worst holiday disaster has ever been. Shame yourselves below…

Foodies of the world! I have a delicious new location for you, and the good news is there is great wine to go alongside. Folks, I’m talking about the southernmost island in Italy: Sicily. Sicily is famous for fresh products and simple ingredients, in both the wine and food food for the region. So I really recommend you start researching your next holiday in Sicily if you love fresh, affordable and delicious food and wine.

Another great thing about Sicily is that every town and village has their own food or wine festival during the year, usually from spring to fall. They celebrate their produce and the typical products of their town. Here are some of my favorite food and wine festivals, also known as Sagre, in Sicily.

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Sagra della Seppia is dedicated to cuttlefish. You can feast on them in all different forms, from raw to fried to baked in a pie. It is located in Donnalucata, which is a coastal village south of Scicli. It usually happens during the month of March.

Sagra della ricotta e del formaggio takes place in the hometown of the great author Giovanni Verga, Vizzini. It is one of the oldest sagre on the island and is dedicated to ricotta products in all forms. This includes sweets like cassata and cannoli as well as savory dishes like pizza and pastas with ricotta. You will also get the chance to taste many other local cheeses. It usually happens in the last week of April. All hail the cheesemakers!

Sagra del Pomodoro and I Gusti del Barocco is a festival dedicated to tomatoes. It takes place near Scicli in the town of Sampieri. Tomatoes are really just an excuse for 3 days of eating, drinking, cooking, exchanging folk tales and celebrating their culture. It takes place during the first week of May, this year from April 30th to May 4th.

Inycon a Menfi Wine Festival is the perfect opportunity to taste some of the island’s finest wines. You can also take tours of the local cantinas in one of Sicily’s most famous wine-tasting towns. You can also taste local olive oil and other food products. Of course, there are concerts and shows to entertain your desire for nightlife. As the name suggests, it takes place in Menfi at the end of June. This year it was from June 20th to June 22nd.

Sagra della pepata di cozze is a mussel-lovers paradise! It takes place at Aci Trezza which is a seaside village on the coast between Catania and Taormina on the Ionian Sea. The first week of July gives way to this seafood celebration of the peppered mussels. They are boiled and doused with pepper, parsley and garlic. Fresh and delicious, this is a festival not to be missed.

There are hundreds of other festivals around the island, so check out a side like http://www.thethinkingtraveller.com which gives you a list of all the current dates and locations of the various food festivals in Sicily. Happy holidays, and buon appetito!

I’m a bit of a nail polish fiend, not that you’d know it these days as my collection goes neglected thanks to working in a clinical environment. That said, when essence cosmetics sent me their exclusive #shelfie I couldn’t resist getting Mum involved and testing a few of their gel nail polishes out.

The #shelfie is frankly brilliant. The coolest way to display nail polish this case holds 42 colours (and lucky me got to own them all) and folds out to hang neatly on the wall. The walls in our house aren’t very strong; we’ve found that out the hard way before when hanging things up so my shelfie hasn’t made it up on the wall yet, but it’s chilling on a desk making me want to paint my nails every damn day.

Last weekend Mum and I picked out a colour for each other and had a bit of pamper time. We both love these polishes- I’ve used essence before but it was new to Mum. The base and top coats are designed to keep the polish on for up to 60% longer than without and the colours apply like a dream. Longevity wise they are still going strong after three days which is some kind of miracle for me! I can’t wait to try more colours, at least on my toes if I can’t on my fingers…

What’s your favourite colour to wear on your nails?

No matter how much love I have for all things floral and feminine I still have a lot of space in my heart (and wardrobe) for a nautical look from time to time. Back in my youth I was rarely seen in anything that wasn’t navy and/or striped- complete with glass of rum in hand as often as humanely possible. Thankfully I’ve moved on from that phase now but I still have a soft spot for things that remind me of my teenage years and when Babycham launched their new Spring/Summer collection and I spied this pair I knew exactly how I wanted to wear them.

Come Spring and some warmer weather these shoes will not be off my feet. The perfect height heel for every day wearing and the ideal partner for denim I’m just smitten. Babycham are up there as one of my favourite brands for cool and quirky footwear and their latest collection does not disappoint.

TGIF eh? Even if it is Friday the 13th, I’m not superstitious usually but can’t help but expect something to go wrong when this date rolls around. Touch wood we all make it through in one piece though, I am SO ready for the weekend.

Got any plans for Valentine’s Day? Ben and I will do something low key I expect, we’re not great planners and prefer to just see what happens.