Some big flashy blogs may take you to a Chanel product launch. Other blogs may take you to Fashion Week.

But how many blogs take you down t’cobbles eh? Last weekend; my mum, sister, niece and I drove to Manchester and went on the Corrie Tour. I’ve been watching Coronation Street since forever, I remember my mum watching every episode after tea; with me inadvertently being sucked in too. My sister got her own house and the cycle repeated itself with my niece being a 10 year old Corrie fan.

After getting lost, visiting a homeless campsite and a dodgy warehouse advertised as ‘Corrie Tour Car parking’ we finally got there. On getting our tickets scanned, we were given these nifty little backstage passes. To be honest, the passes were more decorative than useful, but having a backstage pass does make you feel a little bit spesh and important (if you ignore the fact everyone else is wearing them.)

The tour starts with the law-enforced health and safety speech, followed by a video showing some of the show’s most famous scenes. Unfortunately the people behind the tour are killjoys that don’t allow photography during the actual tour – apparently you can view all of the professional photos here though. The tour showcases many of the familiar houses, which are surprisingly tiny.

Like, really tiny. My ten year old niece would make some of the furniture look small.

As well as the sets, you also get to see some of the past (and future) props, and nosy into a few of the casts dressing rooms. FYI – Roy’s is exactly as you would imagine; no high light mirror here, just comfy armchairs.

One of my favourite places was the costume dept.; OK so some costumes might be less exciting than others, it was still great to see some of the impressive dresses worn by the Bridezilla’s over the years.

Just a heads up though, when you get into the Rovers Return, the famous photo behind the bar is mega awks. Each group or couple has to take turns in front of the rest of the tour group while the tour leader takes a quick photo (you can buy these at the end for roughly £7.30 for each)

After the tour, you are pretty much left to your own devices on the cobbles, where you can spend as much or as little time as you like. The street is generally fairly full, with people waiting to take turns outside famous café’s and houses. However this means there are always friendly strangers on hand to take group photos when a selfie just won’t suffice.

The Corrie tour is a pleasant way to pass an hour or two, but ends in December this year. So if you’ve spent years watching the street, now’s the time to walk down it.

Before we start I feel like I should grovel to you because of the quality of these photos. Earlier in the week, I had been playing around with the settings on my phone’s camera; and I am yet to work out what I’ve actually done (and how to undo it.)

Also, I’m yet to persuade anyone else that fashion photography is actually their calling, so selfies it is.

This week, I was really stumped at what to wear for this blog post. Tonight was the only night I could have a photography session but as I had eaten all the food, nothing was going to look brilliant. So hey ho, here’s the go to wrap dress.

This dress is part of my dream workwear wardrobe, it’s just below the knee and fairly demure in its print, so great for the office. Also, women of a certain age all rage about wrap dresses because ‘they hide all the lumps and bumps’ apparently. What more could I want?

I tried to get a close up here, so you could see the wrap detail, but all that is really standing out in the photo is my lovely chipped nails (you can read a post on this nail varnish here) – just keeping it real, dawwg. I also feel like one of my arms looks a bit weird, as if it’s been superimposed there, but it hasn’t, I promise.

I paired this dress with a plum lip because I felt like this outfit needed a splash of colour, but at the same time I didn’t want to go too bright. The shoes are just a pair of plain patent court shoes, because nothing says an easy outfit like black court shoes.

The print of this dress includes whites, creams and greys, which I really like. I feel that if this dress wasn’t so multi-tonal it would be a bit boring, or even a little bit past it. I also like the sleeve length, if like me you work in a freezing cold office; they will keep out the chill. However, because they are cropped you can also show off your babein new bracelet. If (unlike me) you remember to put one on, obz.

Although the back cover did not inspire me much I bought this book for two very rubbish reasons.

Firstly I remember that (although I didn’t actually see it) the film adaption was quite a big deal in its day.

Secondly, in the second hand book store, it was only 50p – hardly a great investment.

I would like to tell you that this is a good book. Certainly the narrative is well written, engaging and the plot will leave you holding your breath. All this said it is a good piece of writing, not a good book. The subject matter is dark, hauntingly disturbing in places, with only glimpses of hope.

The novel follows the story of Amir, set in 1970’s Afghanistan, America and eventually 80’s Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Pakistan does also get a brief mention, as the world watches Afghanistan’s political structure shake and crumble.

I have devoured quite a few books by writers who set there plot in their native cultures or lands. Sri Lanka’s literary geniuses have often taken me too far off lands, and unknown conflicts. I admit, I read them because I like the taste of the exotic; the settings, the flavours, the way characters compose their dialogue in a way that is so different to ours.

To say it is set in Afghanistan, with many of the book’s landmarks recognisable only from red blobs on a news channel map, this book does not feel ‘foreign.’ You don’t wonder at the narrow streets or aromatic flavours than hang in the air. You don’t envision travelling there to one day witness a festival for yourself. Khaled Hosseini writes in such a way, that these are not spectacles to be read in passing – these are familiar, these streets are your home, these characters your family. In doing so you too indulge in the childhood joy and ultimately carry their burdens with them.

When a novel deals with subjects as this; political upheaval, Taliban rule, childhood abuse, and family relationships you expect to have a hero. Someone who is brave, someone who will restore your faith in the world. The book has many likable characters, but none are perfect. The flaws in the characters are those we so often fear to see in ourselves and our friends; cowardice, naivety, betrayals and ruined reputations. In a way, it is the characters flaws that make the book; it makes you question how you would act, if you could forgive, if you would run.

Female characters are few and far between in the plot. Whether down to cultural view points, or simply a way of working them into the story I’ll let you decide; but the women in the novel are all painted as either the Madonna or the fallen angel. There are no babbling middle ground characters here. Though it must be noted that male or female, all are offered redemption in a way.

This book displays love at its best and worst, in all its forms. It celebrates the undying nature of true love between friends; it warns that unrequited love can lead to destruction.

If you want a book to lazily flip through, then pass this book by. It will make you work, it will force you to answer questions and acknowledge that which we in the safety of the West are happy to ignore.

Apart from a brief dinner date, all my outfits this week have been nothing special. I’ve had a week off work so have indulged in fail-safe dresses, ripped jeans and all that other off duty jazz. The only thing outfit-wise that’s been worth talking about is this week’s manicure.

A few weeks ago I bought (another) red nail varnish and a lovely soft lilac-y one from a brand that I had never heard of. Truth be told I’d only popped into the shop because it had replaced the local Superdrug so I thought I’d finally have a nosey. All in all, the shop was a bit naff; but these gems might tempt me to venture back in the future.

Essence is a cheap brand, and although the name suggests it intends on jumping on the Essie bandwagon, the bottles have a distinctive shape and a mammoth brush. The brush is so wide and the consistency is bloody brilliant. One swipe was nearly enough to cover a full nail, so perfect if you are in a rush.

The red is a true pillar box red with a high shine. Over the years I have bought a lot of so called ‘gel finish’ nail polishes, but this one is the only convincing one I have encountered. It’s oh so shiny. The aforementioned brush also means you get a nice even coverage and it dries pretty darn quick too.

Weirdly however, the red version does chip a lot more than the lilac. That is not to say it chips a lot; you don’t have to worry about big chunks being absent from after work drinks, the chips are fairly minimal.

Hands up if you’re a nail art fan! Just kidding, I know you can’t risk the smudges. To say the polish is quite smooth and quick drying if you run out of nail glue and decide to just stick things on willy-nilly anyway, you’re in luck. When I did my nails, I was apparently feeling a bit fruity as I reached out for my wheel of fruity nail art. I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I don’t know what fruit this is meant to represent, but I like the way the zesty coloured clashed with the red. Whatever the fruit, it has lasted through three shampoos, a hair mask and multiple bouts of washing up, which is great when you think it’s just the polish holding it on.

So there you have it, this week’s outfit is nothing more than a cheap nail varnish, which is just as well. As I type this I’m sat in an old cotton t-shirt, with wet hair– and let’s face it, that’s a photo not worth sharing.