Graduation, Sunshine & The Stable, Plymouth

A few weeks ago, I finally graduated from my BA (hons) undergraduate degree in English with Creative Writing. 

Although, Little Cub seems to think she did too...

And Mum too...

I didn't think I'd ever get round to graduating due to my illness, etc, but I did and I have to say it's a really weird feeling. 

The graduation day itself was a weird one. I'm really not comfortable with big ceremonies or high emotion so I felt extremely out of place and, to be honest with you, I didn't enjoy it. I was in pain and the day felt a little bit redundant because all of my classmates and loved ones had graduated ages ago. I did, however, enjoy having my best friend there for the day. Sophieanne may not be someone I have discussed in great detail on Vivatramp before but she is one of the people that ensures I stay on this earth. I love her and I'm so glad she was with me to see me through and to check on my fringe, as photographed above. 

After stopping off at a pub on the Barbican to talk Don't Tell The Bride with one of Mum's best mates and his new husband, a highlight of the day, we strolled along to The Stable to celebrate with good food. This was the part of the day that I wholeheartedly enjoyed! The Stable is a new addition to the Barbican which I'm more than a little bit gutted about because I'm sure my housemates and I would've loved to work our way through the menu.  I'll just have to get myself to the Bristol branch instead now that I'm back in Somerset! They serve pizzas, pies and cider. The three food groups. 

The interior was wonderful, very blogger-friendly if you catch my drift, and the staff were more than attentive. I loved that the Plymouth branch had two outdoor terraces, one upstairs and own downstairs, because the Barbican area in general is really lovely to gaze out at of an evening. One of the things I liked about the service at the restaurant was the fact that you write your order down. As someone with a lot of dietary requirements it made the process a lot easier! The menu was really refreshing and full of flavours that you wouldn't normally see at your average restaurant so we took our time choosing. We, eventually, picked out the following:  

Look at those babes!

Mum and I went for the Lamb Roast pizza - marinated local lamb, mint, marinated Norsworthy Gunstone goats' cheese, thyme roasted sweet potato, roast onions, tomato sauce and mozzarella. It was full of flavour and, in our opinion, even better heated up for lunch the next day! 



Sophieanne went for The King Crabber - handpicked white and brown crab meat, lightly infused with red chilli, garlic and lemon with roasted red peppers, fresh basil leaves and topped with mozzarella, finished with creme fraiche, parsley and a lemon wedge. Soph absolutely loves seafood and, as a coeliac, she was really chuffed that they offer gluten free bases for all their pizzas. 



Little Cub opted for the Squish Squash pie - spiced butternut squash, sweet potato, goats' cheese, spinach and plum chutney. From what I gather, it was really really good.
Dad went for the Steak Out pie - beef, stout and horseradish - but inhaled the thing so fast that there is no photographic evidence. Typical. Dad really enjoyed it and even went as far as saying that it was good value for money. My Dad's a Scotsman so that's a really big deal! 
We thoroughly enjoyed our experience at The Stable. The restaurant was clean, had a great atmosphere and the staff were both accommodating and attentive. I would recommend it to everyone. Whilst it's mainly a South West chain, they're branching out to cities like Birmingham and Cardiff soon so keep your eyes peeled for that.
Thank you to everyone that has supported me throughout my long university experience, whether you helped me get through the dark days of my gap year, the horrendous days of my second gap year or through the late nights working away on essays. Your care and support was much needed and much appreciated. 
UNIVERSITY RELATED POSTS: 14 TIPS FOR STUDYING A CREATIVE WRITING DEGREE how to survive university with an illness uni q and a 20 things to do before i leave university

*Part of the bill was paid for in return for an honest review. The rest was paid for by my Dad in return to just being a bloody fantastic daughter.

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If you'd like to scroll through all of my adventures then you can do so. 

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