Small Island

Amazing island home. The snow is still inches thick on the north facing slopes but today I was fed up with it and we drove to the coast at Littlehampton where it was a positively balmy 8c. We are about as far as anywhere from the coast so it took a good couple of hours to do the eighty odd miles but was worth it. Low tide, wide skies, everyone taking the air: kids on Christmas bikes, oldies on scooters and zimmers, skaters, walkers, runners and lots of dogs. Especially retired greyhounds. Ate at the East Beach Cafe which was, deservedly, packed and walked along the beach and around the harbour to Climping.

Swans prettily on the River Arun which runs down from Arundel where we stopped and looked at the castle, now closed for the winter, and the Wetlands Centre. We will go again.

Snow birds

This is the crab apple tree outside my bedroom window. Today, the sixth day of snow, it was covered in birds - except when I tried to photograph them! There was a whole flock of Redwings, blue and coal tits, chaffinches, a robin, a blackbird and a huge pigeon all snacking on the overripe crab apples. Yesterday, in the bitter cold soon after dawn, a little wren picked its way along my kitchen windowsill searching for insects. As the window cracks are usually full of hibernating ladybirds and lacewings I hope it found some breakfast.
Today was grey and foggy, warmer with snow plopping off the trees by late afternoon and this evening the rain blew in with several claps of thunder to finish the job off. I was fed up with it. De-icing the chickens and burning the clutch on icy roads and slushy pavements and not getting to the pool. I am such a wuss!

SNOW!

It snowed on Thursday night, almost two months later than last year's exceptionally early fall when the leaves were still on the trees. It had been threatening for a few days and was bone cold when the blizzard blew in. On Friday it was enough to clear a patch of grass in front of the hen house and retreat indoors. I spent the day cleaning and washing which was a good thing as I had not given it a good go since half term in October, v slutty.
Saturday was still icy but the sun shone so we walked and I managed to get the car out which was another good thing as we had eighteen for lunch today and I had to shop. I concocted a gorgeously festive coleslaw but as my camera is snowed in at work there is no photo. This is the recipe!
Gorgeous Pink Coleslaw
A red onion, half a smallish red cabbage, a couple of smallish beetroot and a Granny Smith's apple allfinely sliced and shredded. A good tablespoon of wine vinegar and a handful of lemon thyme leaves. Give it all a really good mix so that everything is coated in the wine vinegar and won't discolour. At this point it looks really beautiful. Then mix in a few tablespoons of mayonnaise to your taste and a light sprinkling of black pepper. It looks a bit pinker now but still quite glamourous. Best left in the fridge overnight fro the veggies to soften very slightly and the flavours to permeate. Serves 10 as a side. Everyone said it tasted yummy!
When my coffee grinder and liquidiser both broke earlier this year I bought a Kenwood food processor but there are so many bits it rather puts me off using it. And it fills a whole cupboard. And then it is so quick that you almost feel it is a waste of time getting it out. It does chop more finely and evenly than I do but I rather feel I need to start a catering business to justify it!

I love beetroot but had never thought of using it in stew before and as it turns out I wish I had thought of it sooner. It gives a lovely rich colour as well as a sweet, earthy taste.

Lamb and Beetroot Hotpot

Chop and gently fry a couple of shallotts and a couple of leeks. Chop and put into a large casserole dish: a couple of carrots, a couple of turnips, a small swede and a few beetroot - anything in that line you fancy really. Chuck in the fried leeks and shallotts and in the pan brown two neck fillets of lamb cut into cubes. When brown add to pot and pour a few glasses of wine, beer or fruit juice into the pan along with a vegetable stock cube. Stir in all the caramelised veggie bits and after a couple of minutes add to the pot with a large tablespoonful of black treacle and stir well. Season with a little salt and pepper. Slice a couple of potatoes and layer on the top dotted with crushed garlic and butter. Press down into the liquid and put on the lid. Put into a hot - 200 degrees c oven and turn down to about 160 after half an hour. Continue to cook for at least another two hours but three is even better. Check after a couple of hours to make sure there is still enough liquid. Even better cooked the night before and warmed up for half an hour when you get in from a hard days work! Serves 4 or 2 and freeze the rest for next week.. You can also leave off the potato top and serve with mashed parsnips and potatoes - that way your partner doesn't realise he is getting the same thing two weeks running - mine didn't anyway!

Robins

I had a mind to write tonight but first I had a little comment moderation to do and I am so glad I did that. Thank you gals, I am so happy to know I am not just spouting off into the ether or indulging in a bit of therapy - which of course I am...

Miss Whistle is blue. I hadn't heard of 'the blahs' before but I know just how she feels. I call it ennui but there are many different translations of this so for the sake of clarity mine is a feeling of tetchy listlessness: I can't be bothered to get up and go and I even annoy myself. Not today you understand, but too often, especially at this time of year. Today was that nasty grey, wettish cold that is no good for anything but frizzing up your hair, but today I had a mission so all was well. When I feel ennui I don't write my blog or walk or cook and I am perfectly horrible but usually I keep that to myself - thank you Miss Whistle for sharing.

I actually ordered one of those SAD lamps which I feel is pretty sad in itself but having acknowledged my order there has been a long silence from 'the healing store', though funnily enough I feel much better!

Miss Whistle likes my header and I am over the moon about that because I don't think I've had a comment on my header (which I change very often) for ages. Her guess was very close.This valley runs almost parallel to the Golden Valley, from Nettleden to Little Gaddesden and if you took a footpath past that tree on the right and up the hill you would reach Amaravati, the buddhist monastery I have mentioned before. This view changes daily with the seasons and the weather and the most amazing pic I have of it was taken in the summer of '08 when the farmer had a bit of an Andy Goldworthy moment. If you haven't seen it do take a look - I save it in my 'best pics' folder which has only three pictures in it as I am a perfectionist at heart.

This is the robin I stole from Miss Whistle's post because.....outside my office window a robin has been singing at dawn and even after dusk all week . It has really cheered me up and I kept meaning to do a quick bit of internet research on it. You can follow the link (I do love links) or read it here: I am sure that this is the Spring song. Yes, from mid December the Spring song can be heard: 'powerful, confident and upbeat'. Apparently robins are well adapted to low light conditions and are often the first bird to begin the dawn chorus. This one is definitely looking for a mate. I always think they look a bit brash on Christmas cards, but I am so glad I was prompted to find out a bit more. Thank you Robin!

minx

If you have a bike in the shed, like me, and maybe that bike should be got out of your shed more often, like mine, log on to the Minx website and feast your eyes on all the fab fashion for gals on bikes. As well as the gear there is a blog (a bit scary but some awesome females out there) and really good advice. Yep, those minx girls will tell you if your bum looks big in that and they will give you the confidence to not give a damn. They really will talk you through what you need and what will fit and they will take it back too if you are not happy with it. I love those minxes......but I wish they did sailing stuff too. My best tip: three quarter length, capris, whatever are sooo much more flattering than shorts, and they need only be a couple of inches longer. Just over your knees girls and you will look great summer or winter. If you don't get the bike thing just look at this jacket - no argument really is there? You know you want it!

SHADES of GREY

If you haven't heard me raving about Jasper FForde before, listen up now. I first heard of him when I read The Eyre Affair about eight years ago and the heroine, Thursday Next, really rivals Jane in my book - or his...

The Thursday series, of which there are five with another on the way, are a fabulously idiosyncratic read on the very edge of sci-fi. Cunningly wrought plots and clever but never clever - clever references to the classics, with which our literary heroine is highly familiar in her role as Spec Ops detective for Jurisfiction, make compelling reading. I have read them all and listened to several which the library have on CD (support your local library!) and could easily read them all again.

Don't be put off by the deliberately trashy covers or the cult website, just take my advice and get to know Thursday, my twentieth century heroine. Except when she is my nineteenth century heroine.... oh just read it and find out!

I did not like the Nursery Rhyme series, but reading the excerpt from Shades of Grey I feel myself being sucked in to Jasper's world once more..... click on the title for the link.

On Wanting 'Stuff'

It has been so mild I can hardly believe that Christmas is just around the corner. Unusually for me I am really well prepared - cards sent, presents wrapped, parties arranged and as of today tree and lights up. Some years I have shopped on Christmas Eve, done Meals on Wheels on Christmas Day and last year not even bothered to put the tree up - my kids were horrified! I really wouldn't mind forgetting all about X and going for a long walk along the beach with coffee and sandwiches but it seems that would worry them, so if I must be conventional I will try (this year a bit harder) to do it right.

One problem is being torn between a desire to live simply and give away all that stuff I don't need or use, and the strong pull of consumerism. The thing is I love stuff.

I love, shiny,beautiful, comfortable, cosy, colourful things. I love sofas and throws and duvets and bath stuff, and earrings and perfume and chocolate and roses and my bantams and all sorts of stuff I could do perfectly well without. And though I dream of a one room stone cottage in the middle of nowhere all sorts of details creep in at the edges of my picture of uncluttered and solitary bliss - the big comfy sofa covered in pillows and throws, the old cream Aga with cast iron casseroles and copper bottomed pans, the deep, white bath and pile of towels, the tall, crammed bookcase, the potter's wheel, the kiln in the back yard, oh, and my sewing machine.

Chickens are a must, a pig inevitable, a couple of sheep and a dog if I'm not working.... getting a bit manic now! But who can live without sheepskin slippers and warm boots and at least a couple of pairs of decent jeans and a whole drawer full of socks and hand knitted jumpers. And there would have to be spare beds too because I can't imagine not having my grandsons stay over. It's just not going to happen but the dream lives on......

So here I am again, Christmas is coming, I am completely out of control and half of it will have to go to the charity shop in the New Year. But to assuage some of these deep cravings for warmth and comfort and satisfaction I am just going to indulge myself here with a few pics of some of the stuff I don't want to do without, even if I could if I really, really tried......

I love coffee, black or white but always with sugar and especially with turkish delight.

Every day I wear this gorgeous perfume by Estee Lauder - it is called Delights and it smells of sugar and vanilla and candyfloss and is perfectly juvenile and delicious. I love the packaging too - it is sooo stripy and the exact right shade for the scent.

As I write I am wearing these incredibly comfy and cosy sheepskin slipper socks - my daughter makes fun of them but I know that if she put them on I would never get them back.

I have just finished reading this book - it is as good as the cover. I love books with good covers! and I love Charlie and Lola, and Rupert Bear and Quentin Blake.

And this little tamworth is the one I would have curled up next to the Aga and if the yard stretched to an acre or so it would be Giant Buff Cochins scratching in it and laying my eggs for tea!
Hmm. I feel a whole lot better for this!

Places we saw last summer

We did another section of the Thames Path (see September) and mean to finish it but right now long sections are under water. This is just south of Oxford, we now only have the section north of the city to do.

Today on Radio 4 I heard about The Harrow Way which, set on high chalkland like the Ridgeway, and with views to the south coast, sounds awesome. But....after an extensive google I have come to a bit of a blank. 150 miles of 7000 year old track but not sure if all of it is mapped or signposted. Something to research for next year....

In September our friends took us on a walk along Offa's Dyke from the crooked little church at Cwmyoy where we found this intriguing headstone, and overlooking the ruin of Llanthony Priory . Eric Gill the sculptor and calligrapher lived near here in the 1920's and two headstones he designed are in the churchyard at nearby Capel y Ffin. We wonder if this beautiful grave marker is associated with the artist's family? Spookily, when I got home I found a book waiting on the shelf all about the area we had just walked, including the priory , the artists commune and the church. 'Resistance' by Owen Sheers got very mixed reviews, but if you know the area his poetic descriptions conjure up each scene perfectly. Also in Wales for the August Bank holiday, down near Dolgellau at Penmaenpool we crossed this beautiful old toll bridge on the Mawddach estuary. There is a walk (really good for bikes, buggies and wheelchairs) all the way to Barmouth with breathtaking views, salt marsh flora and birdwatching opportunities. And in the town of Dolgellau, below Cader Idris we took refuge from the torrential rain in this amazing cafe, once an ironmongers and now a purveyor of very fine cakes. Board games are provided for those long, wet afternoons Snowdonia is so famous for... follow the Dolgellau link and click on town trail for more history, including that of this cafe.

Last pic of the summer, we were back in Dorset on Hengistbury Head (see march 09).

And now it is pouring again so I am off to read A Concise Chinese - English Dictionary For Lovers by Xiaolou Guo - easy and unput down able.

Tupping time

Well autumn has definitely begun now. The rain has woken me a few times in the night and even around here there are flooded fields and, for once, full streams. The leaves have not all fallen though, which I think must be a record, and so far most days have been very mild.
I stopped to photograph these ladies in their rain washed coats, bright in the morning sun and ready for tupping. My friend tells me that hers all went to the ram in October and that they will be expecting very early lambs this year - around the end of February, so I hope the winter is kind by then. I love their oversized, wrinkled skins. Rubbing them you can feel their ribs under their wooly jumpers like toddlers squirming under the towel at bathtime. One day, when work ends I would love to raise one in my kitchen. That day when I have a pig in the garden too......

Bring on the girls!

FISHTANK - weird name for a film and I never quite worked that bit out .......I wasn't going to get seats for this film but the girl at the ticket kiosk said "Jane has just seen it and says it is the best film she has seen this year, so I did. On the night I did a quick google (don't, save that for later) and I would have been put off; I didn't feel I could face 'gritty' on a cold, wet November night, but I had made a date with a girl friend so we went. I confessed on the way so we had a drink first.



We loved the film. There were a few shocks and brilliantly built up suspense and a no holds barred view of Essex life and an absolutely compelling lead. Writer and director Andrea Arnold discovered her real life heroine at a train station "on one platform with her boyfriend on another platform, giving him grief." She says Katie Jarvis is for real. She dominates the camera and drives the narrative; the effect is mesmerising. Whether she is 'acting' or not she won the Edinburgh Festival Film award for Best British Performance this year and Fishtank won the Cannes Jury prize. Just see it!



New favourite website - Saltwater - yummy clothes only a tad too expensive, check it out.

Still Sailing

This was the lake as I left today. Calm.

What I am getting good at: using the sail to steer.

What I have to do now: hike out. Any tips?

Fireworks were good. All anticipation had gone though I have been excited every year for the last almost 50. But it was good; I articulated aloud. And there were magical fire balloon lanterns. So all was well.

Reading The Places In Between by Rory Stewart. Trust me on this one, and if you are single and under 40, follow the link...

Yummmm!

Sailed yesterday and walked in the woods this afternoon, bulgy little camera (blc) in pocket. I am quite happy with this shot, probably the most photographed spot in Ashridge but especially for Miss Whistle. Earlier we had forayed for sweet chestnuts, now roasted and eaten. Wild food always tastes good; on Friday it was overripe-to-perfect damsons and the blackberries are only just over after an epic season as autumn went on and on. Found some pretty pink mushrooms which look to be Russula Nitida as described and 'most commonly found in birch woods'. They looked quite tasty but my book is a bit ambiguous 'The best way to decide whether or not Russula is edible is to taste a small piece of the uncooked flesh. Only those with a mild or bland taste should be used.' Or not!

My other taste of autumn is Russet apples. I have loved them since I was a child and most especially since I read Little Women, aged 10. You might remember that Jo used to munch them in her writing den in the attic, which gave them huge kudos for me. My other favourite apples were both grown in our garden at home - Beauty of Bath and Coxes Orange Pippins - so first loves really. On stories, my sister reminded me of my great love for pomegranites which I had a real fad for as a teenager, completely based on the story of Persephone in the underworld. So this was my tea today - the Marmite rice cakes are very tasty and very good for you and virtually no calories at all!

A funny thing happened today... I googled Ivinghoe Tearooms to see if they were open (highly recommended) and found myself in Miss Whistle's blogspot . It turns out that Miss Whistle is an occasionally homesick Chilterns Girl now living in L.A. who has recently been visiting her old stomping ground. I loved reading her stuff and can't wait to visit her recommend The Sir Charles Napier. I only wish I had found this foodie haven a couple of days ago and joined a Fungi Foray in the beechwoods. Like her I am reading Alan Bennett's Untold Stories - a bit unwieldy in bed- and until she reminded me I had forgotten that Tender Is The Night is one of my all time greatest reads. I was happy to see that she writes poetry on her blog and that it looks good, not wet.
Looking at last week's header I was disappointed at the pixellation. Even my little camera bulges my pockets so this was another pic taken on the mobile phone. So I looked for an alternative and found stacks of lovely local pics as well as many more exotic ones on Jason Gallier's website. I am sure I saw him taking the one of haybales at the foot of the beacons.... and there are some great shots of my other favourite place, Pembrokeshire, too. The one I've used is of the Reservoirs because the other thing I didn't like about my autumnal header was that the colours were not quite as glowing as the real thing, and Jason's weren't either (sorry). A bit like bluebells....

This is where we walked today, from Aldbury to Ivinghoe, below the ridge along the beautiful vale that stretches from Clipper Down to Wiggington; it surely has a name. It was cooler today and hazier and the leaves are falling now and a little breeze got up so we fell to talking about sailing, which is what I shall be doing tomorrow if it doesn't rain. And I should take my bulgy little camera, but not on the lake.......

Soooo hard....

...to keep blogging! but the Indian Summer continues, thankyou God!


August was sooo wet and DULL, I didn't think I could bear the Autumn coming but this is the eighth week of still, mostly warm, mostly sunny weather and even now that the clocks have gone back - dark at 5.30 p.m. - today was lovely. Went to the reservoirs with the boys and it was like being on the beach, the water was the lowest I've ever seen it. Found a dead pike, v scary and smelly.

I was there the other evening and there was a great commotion among the ash trees to the west of Startops. Having seen flocks of naturalised Ringnecked Parakeets as close by as Bury Lake, and Cassiobury Park, I thought at first thatparakeets had reached Tring, but on checking http://birdingtringreservoirs.blogspot.com/ it seems much more likely that they were jackdaws roosting! Follow the link to a really dedicated twitcher who seems to know all there is to know about birds in Herts, Beds & bucks. I hear that the parakeets - which I love for their beautiful colour, streamlined shape, excited clamouring cries and overall exoticism - are a threat to owls, woodpeckers and other natives by inhabiting sought after holes in trees. A real shame but I can't help hoping they are here to stay.

Recently seen: Hurt Locker ***, Broken Embraces ***, Dorian Gray hmmmm **, and The Time Travellers Wife - I loved the book but sadly *. But 500 Days of Summer - I loved it and have just bought the soundtrack, catch it if you can.

The books haven't been so great recently, the last good one being 'Home' by Marilynne Robinson, as good as her Housekeeping, but really, don't bother with her much trumpeted Gilead unless you are desperately ecclesiastical. And although I really rated Patrick Gale's Notes From An Exhibition as probably my best read last year, his The Whole Day Through was disappointing even though I couldn't put it down.

So now the dark nights are back how long until my next post? And any tips for keeping warm sailing on cooler (bloody cold) days? In this very still weather I have graduated to a Laser with no recent capsizes. I find the combination of mesmerising ripples, sudden gusts and long afternoons outdoors to be just what the doctor ordered but am not sure I can keep it up over the winter.....

While on dark nights, I slowed down on the way home tonight to allow a very dapper young badger to cross the road which was so much nicer than the several knocked over ones seen in the past few weeks. Apparently the lack of rain would encourage them to forage further afield and therefore cross more roads, so please watch out and give way to badgers.

Walking into the sunset

This is our end of the Ridgeway. At last we have our Indian Summer and the past few weeks I have been getting in as much daylight as possible. Completely exhausted fro sailing, cycling and walking, walking, walking in a last ditch attempt to flood my brain with seratonin and endorphins. It is definitely working but I am covered in bruises and too tired to blog. Just a little walk the other eve took me to Inchcombe Hole and the last daylight for miles around. I burst out of the woods and blinked at the 300 degrees of sky and the path stretched out along the line of hills ahead.

Having completed the Ridgeway we are now back to the Thames Path north of Oxford. Last Sunday we shared twenty minutes with a fabulous elderly lady well into her 70's, out walking her poodle in her cycle basket. We got a little peek into her life and she made it onto my list of top ten lifestyle icons. Not for me the pop queens and screen idols - make me an eccentric Englishwoman any day. Hopefully I am well on the way.

The past two weekends we have had perfect weather and I have got to grips with sailing a little Topper single handed with only one, successfully righted, capsize. So now I have some quite neat sailing gear and a good reason to be on my own, in a beautiful place, busily challenging myself and sleeping soundly apart from the odd non orgasmic groan as I settle my bruised limbs.

Swallows, Amazons and buzzards...

So far I've spent six days learning to sail and dreaming of Swallows and Amazons & The Famous Five. I am a slow learner and not hugely brave or confident - Peggy or Anne depending on the series. Covered in scrapes and bruises but feeling good. Quite good at rigging, crewing & balancing the boat; getting a feel for the wind, hopeless steering has improved slightly. Dozens of kids swarming over the smallest craft like water rats, showing no fear whatsoever and learning about five times faster than me. Have developed a keen interest in wetsuits, rash vests and buoyancy aids and spent the w/end in Christchurch yacht watching in addition to the usual people watching. Found a v interesting link to Arthur Ransome. Was he or was he not a communist double agent? Not sure whether to reread the Swallows books next or Ransome's biography 'The Last Englishman' by Roland Chambers.

Currently reading 'March' by Geraldine Brooks। Loosely written around the father of 'Little Women', the first book I ever bought. Nostalgia.The promise is ably delivered by a writer worth reading.

Where have all the swallows gone? And the swifts and the martins? They seem to have left early this year। For two weeks now there have been only a couple in the skies where earlier in the month there were a dozen or so circling and swooping। I have heard this has happened in other localities and that it could be the erratic weather affecting the insect population, the hatching or the broods. It has been wonderful to have buzzards nesting close by for the first time I can remember, waking us each morning with their shrill calls and the babies still crying for food at dusk, but could they have seen off the swallows? We also seem to have a growing magpie population: they eat the chicken feed and set the bantams squawking with a vengeance. Nature should be more peaceful!

Soon I will need to change the header but I love this picture. At first the crop was a mystery, then an Andy Goldsworthy, changing by the hour, the weather and the day. Linseed or flax, I should ask the farmer to plant it again next year.

End of the Path

We finally finished the Ridgeway. It took us so long we have forgotten when we started, but several years ago now. We began walking on weekends and evenings and have now walked from home to the start of the path and then the whole length of 87 miles. Lots of looking back over our shoulders at the distances we have covered and driving out to a new starting point or home again on a parallel road; the Ridge is the most recognisable feature of the Chiltern hills. We went east to west and there was no walk when we didn't stop several times to marvel at the view, often enhanced by the sunset we were walking into. Apparently many walkers prefer walking with the wind at their back but I like my hair swept off my face. The ground, being high and chalky was almost always good for walking and supports the prettiest flora. Earlier in the year we saw cowlips then orchids and now harebells scattering the slopes. All along the way Red Kites, buzzards, sparrow hawks and kestrels flew alongside, above and sometimes below us and this month we walked through clouds of butterflies: whites of all sizes, brimstones, blues, tortoiseshells, skippers and gatekeepers. Thank goodness the sun has come out at last!

where did july go?

Hard month, stressy end of term and grey skies - trying to sort my head out. Can't believe I had another panic attack yesterday - seems as though it happened to a different person now. Trying to be a different person. Sat out reading until it got dark last night to get some rays jacking up my pineal gland and stubbed my toe while storing up blue skies last week. Can't say I'm not trying, hopeless case...

So what's good?

Books:

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. 4 Amazon stars. I read Year of Wonders a few years back and this is a testament to Brooks' growth as an author. I have ordered her Pulitzer prize winning March from the library (use it or lose it!)

Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry. Won the Costa prize but has a half less star - probably because it encapsulates in its heroine the tradgedy of Ireland. But wait! she rises like a phoenix. A degree of misery is essential, I could take it, so can you.

About to start Home (faith, love, doubt, fear..) Marilynne Robinson. Loved her 1980 Housekeeping, she's won the Pulitzer since then for Gilead, maybe next on my list...

Films:

Looking for Eric (Cantona) and yes, he is in it. The nearest Ken Loach will ever get to a feelgood movie, a little gem from a national treasure.

Sunshine Cleaning. Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, all gorgeous. Believable, human, compassionate. A pinch of the essence of life here, black humour, wry smiles. Emily continues to convince and amaze - this is Young Victoria's antithesis.

Looking forward to 35 Rhums, father, daughter, read the interview, see the trailer; Frozen River, low budget Thelma & Louise on Alaskan border.

Exhibitions:

Waterhouse at the R.A. Don't read the reviews, just go. Makes me wish I'd done Classics.

Places: Walking in Edale, between Kinder Scout and Mam Tor on Lose Ridge. We did the sunny afternoon walk. Women and children did it every day of the year to start work at 5 am in the cotton mill we stayed in. And over to Castleton for funerals. Trail of tears.

But maybe weddings too, and christenings, and guys. Not all bad.

We are finishing off the Ridgeway, finally, next week and Snowdonia is lined up for the Bank Holiday, after a couple of days sailing (what has possessed me?) and a weekend in Christchurch. As you can see I really am trying.

Sooooooo....

Soooo, I went on a surf and this is what I found: the Alexander Henry website, cutting edge of fabric design in beautiful, downtown Burbank, California. Turns out that that fab fabric really is called Tattoo and here is a bigger pic in a choice of colourways. Strangely it is in the 'fashion for home' section along with some very tasteful skull motif curtain fabric. I also love 'Inky Wings' in B&W, I am trying it out as a header. OOops, that didn't work. I still can't do the techy bits for headers, I need advice! Not sure yet how or where else I want them but, I definitely do want them!

How Cutie Is This?

Ok, my shallowness knows no bounds, but how cute is this? The header is linked to the Get Cutie website and my favourite frock. I wanted to show a swatch of another totally fab fabric too, but the pixels were too big. Suffice to say it is called 'Hello Sailor' and is covered in mermaids, sharks and tattoo type hearts and daggers....I want it now! Pleeease check it out.

Back to the frock....would it offend, isn't it gorgeous? Must be my catholic upbringing but I just adore icons, but would I dare wear one?

I have spent at least ten years of my life wearing black and it took a serious effort to get out of the habit. I shop with great dedication as I just can't wear stuff I am not comfortable in. But this, this is totally me........

I picked these on a beautiful piece of common where I walk most days, all within a yard or so. I found the grasses hard to identify, but in looking found a nice little website. I think we have: red sorrel, white clover,?, strawberry clover, cocksfoot grass, vetch, ?, sweet vernal grass, ribwort plantain,?, ?, buttercup, rye grass and common bent grass. Hmmm, too many gaps.....

I love meadows and picking these reminded me to look out a poem I wrote ages ago.

One blade of grass.

From off the shelf

i drew a book

and from its pages

there was shook

one blade of grass.

The memories it holds,

left there between the folds.

I thought it had been sent

that early summer

when love was green.

Now faded,

I've not seen you since,

and love evaded us

once summer came.

One blade of grass,

all that remains;

One blade of grass.

Gran Torino

First click on the header for trailer and amazing title song by Jamie Cullen. Then enlarge poster and look at that for a while - not bad for a guy of 79. As far as I am concerned his best film full stop. He directs, produces, stars and worked on the score with son Kyle. Eastwood's requiem; homage to his alter ego. The man is a genius. Nuff said.

Perfect!

UGLYDOLLS

I kept just spotting these logos out of the corner of my eye and thanks to pioneer woman have finally caught up with them just in time for two new baby presents and a couple of birthdays. Hope they are suitable for newborns (start as you mean to go on....) and if my grandsons don't like them i will have them back! Can't decide which i like best but definitely want one on my pillow....this little guy on the left is a bit sad with no eyes but i guess that is why i like him. The bashed up monster is also tugging at my heartstrings and that keen expression on the little goofy kiddo is sooo cute ..... looks like I'll be going for the t shirt too!

YUMMY STRAWBERRY TRIFLE

I love trifles and make them quite opportunistically with whatever comes to hand. The liqueurs are usually gifts or souvenirs that have lain in the cupboard for a while. I always make a Christmas trifle which is especially good for Boxing day breakfast but this is a nice summer one. I've made it twice recently - it is easy peasy and it's been a big hit!

I don't usually weigh stuff when I'm cooking, and in this recipe you can put in more of your favourite ingredients or adapt it to suit your store cupboard and your taste.

Slice some nice ripe strawbs into the bottom of a bowl - glass looks nice on the table. Cover with a layer of Amaretti biscotti - those crunchy little Italian biscuits that taste of almonds but are actually made with apricot kernels. Over the top pour a generous amount of Disarrono. This is a liqueur also made from apricot kernels; if you like almonds you will love this! Mix strawberry jelly - you can use any sort , low cal or veggie, and as much or little as you like. Pour over and put in the fridge to set - a few hours. When it is set cover with bought or made custard then a layer of thick double cream. Toast a handful of almonds under the grill - watch out though, they only take a minute to toast, and sprinkle over the top. Finis! Parfait!

My variations include a heavier xmas mix using stoned black cherries, granary bread and kirsch with cherry jelly and a lighter raspberry one using finger sponges, Chambord raspberry liqueur and of course raspberry jelly. My other favourite topping is real Angelica which I can never find these days, so I am growing some in the garden and looking for a recipe!

One good turn deserves another

Just finished 'one good turn deserves another' by kate atkinson...and realised that i should have read 'case histories' first! will be looking in the oxfam shop tomorrow. I don't usually read detective stories but read her first book 'behind the scenes at the museum' (whitbread winner) a few years ago and didn't know what i was getting into with this one. I have already earmarked an agatha christie reading friend to convert. kate's latest continues the jackson brodie saga and is already winning awards.

Reminds me of the Thursday Next series by jasper fforde. I've never met anyone else who's read any of these but they are soooo good. I didn't like his nursery crime series but have an affinity with Thursday who is a sort of swashbuckling bridget jones..but better. Jasper's website is amazingly extensive with back and forth links that parallel his written worlds and is constantly evolving - a book in itself.

Spookiest thing is, that having read several of his books over the past few years and been an occasional website visitor i only just realised that he lives on the marches where we so often visit - his knighton sheep pics look just like mine. This is a one off though...

I Love My Bantams!

On the bank holiday we were up on the Welsh border again visiting one of my favourite places - Onibury, home to a wonderful collection of Bantams. Set on a hill looking toward Wenlock Edge to the north east and distant Snowdonia to the north west are pen upon pen of beautiful poultry.

Their website isn't great but the place is magical. A few years ago it was for sale and if i didn't have gorgeous grandsons very close to my hertfordshire home it would be a perfect place to be me.

Thirty years ago, almost in another life, I found Stagsden bird gardens in Bedfordshire and have been hooked on bantams ever since. It closed over ten years ago, a real shame as there was an extensive collection of owls and many other birds too; we were frequent visitors for all of my children's childhoods. The day I first stumbled across it Ted was only at the start of his second year and we both needed some tlc. The bird garden was a retreat from the real world and i often fantasised about living and working there. There is something very calming about watching the little bantams preening, foraging and sunbathing, against a background of their contented sounds. The huge range of colours just among Pekins, my bantam of choice, now runs to over 30 but there are so many other beautiful breeds that it is hard not to stop there. Google images to see gorgeous sebrights, hamburgs, cochin giants and pretty little dutch bantams. I want them all! The only thing preventing me is that to breed pure you must keep your stock in pens and more than half the joy is in letting them range free in the garden. This is a good reason for choosing pekins - their feathered feet make them less damaging to plants and they are not great flyers so easy to contain. Over the past thirty years we have had blue, white, black and buff birds. Right now i have inherited a black hen and cockerel having lost a perfect little black hen under rather mysterious circumstances. The one we are left with is not pure (i was sold a 'pup') so we won't breed from her, but we get half a dozen eggs a week feb - november so can't complain. I prefer buffs and am deciding whether to get eggs when she goes broody, introduce another hen or wait until they peg out before starting afresh, decisions.....

Weirdly, though the weather was perfect, i was very down the next day, despite it having everything going for it. I just don't get it. But - the following day was my birthday when i am always up and there are always good friends who rally round - thankyou friends! I spent the day cooking (why cook unless to feed friends?) then eating, drinking, entertaining and being entertained. Got the perfect mix of prescription drugs and alcohol - no pain, no after effects and the laughter was real; memo to self: do it more often.

BLUEBELLS

This header is linked to the Woodland Trust site 'Find a wood near you....' The banner pic was taken a couple of weeks ago when the bluebells were just coming out; already they are almost over. They look most amazing in beech woods where the lime green leaves emerge a few days after the bells, filtering the light, dappling the shade, fluttering in the breeze and making for a magical picture that can't quite be captured either by a camera or in a painting, though every year I see many trying.

The birdsong is still penetrating from just after 5 a.m. and again now at 7.30 p.m. there seem to be allsorts competing for the clearest song and the best composition. Like a Mozart rondeau there are increasingly complex repetitions; the robins are good and look really perky but the blackbirds are winning!
Enjoying the extra daylight hours, resulting new laid eggs and wishing my back was better at gardening ........

ABOUT TIME.............

Where have I been? What's with the not blog?
I've been consumed with a job application that in the end I didn't get and didn't want, but it was a good thing. It really made me think about what I do and what I want and not getting it was a huge relief. Another bonus: four days (so far) of euphoria, and that doesn't come often - see March, Anaesthesia.
Birdsong: It seems louder this year. Much, much louder and ever present. Is it because my eyesight is getting worse? Is it an age thing? Wherever I go, even in town, the blackbirds and robins and great tits are singing for all they are worth. I had to check out the great tit and so can you by clicking on the link. A few years ago I read a story about Cecil Rhodes exporting British songbirds to South Africa because he wanted to hear their familiar chorus, but they would not sing there; it was so sad.

I got this one from Alpha Mummy, don't know why I find them compulsive, but I do.........
Replace one question. Add one question. Tag other bloggers.
So here goes:
1. What are your current obsessions? Birdsong, almond croissants,
2. Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often? Jeans, trainers
3. What was your favourite childhood meal? Sausage & chips
4. Last thing you bought? Vet supplies for the poor old dog
5. What are you listening to? Silence
6. If you were a god/goddess who would you be? Boadicea - I know she isn't, but she should be,
and it did used to be spelled like this when Peking and Bombay were.....
7. Favourite holiday spots? Wales, Walton on the Naze
8. Reading right now? Pat Barker, Life Class. Regeneration is unbeatable but this is good.
9. Four words to describe yourself. On a quest. Lost.
10. Guilty pleasure? daytime reading in bed
11. Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak? My friend Sigrid, she's the only one who can
12. Favourite spring thing to do? Walk, stay out til dark
13. Planning to travel to next? the sea
14. Best thing you ate or drank lately? Almond croissant & huge cappuccino
15. When did you last get tipsy? Years ago
16. Favourite ever film? Gone with the Wind
17. Care to share some wisdom? It probably won't happen
18. Song you can't get out of your head? Soundtrack from u Carmen e khaylitsha check it out!
19. One thing you'd really like to do this year? Lie in the garden in the sun for 6 weeks
So, who to send this to next?

Behaviour of Moths

Long, hard hols - weep for me! Two weeks off and I am shattered, what have I been up to?

Well, I wrenched my back and spent the first three days trying to be 'gently mobile' with the aid of v strong prescription drugs (absolutely the best kind - those clever pharmacists who manufacture chemical compounds with the exact right dose, the exact right effect and only a few side effects are my heros!)

Then three days with my grandsons was lovely but exhausting, followed by three days filling in a job application ( president of U.S.A., obviously), a spring garden makeover, three skirt alterations, a very badly needed haircut for the geriatric hound and finally got around to marking and grading those sixty science books that have been bugging me the whole fortnight. Now it is nearly midnight and I have three days left: a day with those same patently gifted and talented boys and a weekend in Wales and I will be ready to stagger back into work on Monday. One glance at next week's diary is enough to push me over the edge......

BUT, I am ok, because I have been slipping between the sheets every night for a really good...read!

First I polished off Pat Barkers Double Vision which was good, but now I am nearly through Poppy Adams 'The Behaviour of Moths' and I am loving it! It conjures up images of Brideshead with the added element an introduction to Lepidoptery. I haven't done any research on the author yet or checked out any of the info, but I think it is her first and it is a great read.The paperback isn't out until July but the cover looks a bit naff in comparison to the hardback which is wonderful and it's only £9 on Amazon, though mine's a library copy and libraries need our support! So, can't wait any longer, I'm off to bed!

Must see....'The International'

Just seen 'The International' - go for it! The plot was great; made Bond look like Enid Blyton (and I loved her books until I was ten.) This was way more sophisticated (than JB). Apparently some discussion about if he was up for the JB role - well, watch this and know the answer.

I know I'm getting a bit old for this sort of thing, but Clive was seriously gorgeous! Last loved him in 'Children of Men', also great in 'Closer'. Some have panned his style of acting but for me it is real.

The second best thing about International is the camera work which is amazing - fab locations from all angles and the best shoot out since Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Some great lines too, and I loved the ironic, hmmmm, maybe sardonic, ending. Click on the header for a link....

Wonderful Wales

Soon we will be there, staying with old friends; the best way to relax over a long weekend. From the hillside near Caerwent you can see both the bridges stretched across the estuary and the Quantock Hills in distant Somerset, the striations of light playing on the water and the clouds racing up the sound.

When my children were small I would set off after tea so they fell asleep round about the bridge. The endorphin enducing sound of their breathing, the muted strains of Fleetwood Mac, the safe womb like warmth.
Driving past the spectacular industrial landscape of Port Talbot at dusk and on to the sleepy west Wales towns and Dylan Thomas country. Brackened hills, tumbling streams, silvered bays, dark secret pubs; friends and lovers and kids and dogs and even the flimsiest memory reminds us that we knew the meaning of life....