What's For Afters?

Small Steps

2012-02-01T16:31:00.002Z

I have done things today.Not many things admittedly but compared to last week, when I basically went into meltdown and refused to come up from underneath my duvet, I have been most productive.Well if spending hours reviewing a contract can be considered productive. Dear me, there's a reason why I'm not a lawyer. Do they really spend their days pondering over things like this. Tedious. I

New Shoes

2012-01-26T13:51:00.001Z

Are they not lovely.

Speechless

2012-01-22T13:58:00.002Z

I come to blog, for I have not blogged for a number of days after such a good start to the year, and find I have nothing to say. Or perhaps I have too much to say. Things that deserve properly crafted posts with thought through musings. But I can't seem to focus on those.I haven't really been cooking so nothing to report there. Though I have a big pan of turkey stock, courtesy of the

Denial

2012-01-16T13:19:00.002Z

I have discovered white hairs in my eyebrows.OK, I did spot one a while back (and promptly dealt with it) but I think I've been in denial. But today, there they were. Incontrovertable evidence that I'm getting older. Three of them. Blatantly taunting me.Sigh, I was prepared for grey hair on my head - and whilst I do now have the beginnings of a nice little streak I'm still not in need of the

A Sunny Sunday in London Town

2012-01-15T16:12:00.001Z

Alphabet Meme

2012-01-12T14:49:00.003Z

Because I'm procrastinating doing my tax return. A - Age: ahem....as old as my tongue and a little older than my teethB - Bed size: doubleC - Chore you hate: vacuuming (not entirely keen on any housework except cooking and ironing mind you)D - Don't eat: swede. Or unhappy meat. (ie factory farmed)E - Essential start-your-day item: glass of waterF - Favorite board game: Take Two (which isn't

Geek Queen

2012-01-11T22:43:00.002Z

OK maybe not a geek queen. But I did just manage to figure out why my new phone wouldn't send any of my work emails (it would receive them fine) and fiddle with it successfully so that now it will.It's only taken me a week.

It's that time of year again

2012-01-10T16:49:00.002Z

Unlike Dave who did this cartoon I'm not actually a cartoonist so don't have a dedicated drawing table. Just in case anyone was wondering.Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Weekend jollies

2012-01-09T13:00:00.002Z

You know it's a good drinks party when your hostess appears in the room where you are drawing swords with her 13 year old daughter and says," sorry, I can't find the light sabres".

A delayed Christmas celebration in Kent

2012-01-08T13:14:00.001Z

I went to see my beloved goddaughters yesterday to give them their Christmas presents. It's rather wonderful giving (and getting) Christmas presents after Christmas when all the hullabaloo has died down and children's excitement levels are not ramped up quite so highly. We also went to an amazing park that had outside gym equipment. Great fun. G (their mother) & I particularly liked the waist

Photo Friday

2012-01-06T00:16:00.001Z

Am posting from new phone so don't have a lot of photos to choose from but here's some pictorial evidence of some if what I got up to over Christmas and New Year.

A Soothing Breakfast for When One Has Indulged in Rich Food for Too Long

2012-01-05T14:21:00.002Z

I woke up yesterday to discover no breakfast food in the house. No bread, no cereal, no fruit. Actually that's not quite true there was cereal but the milk was somewhat suspect.Hungry but not wishing to go out and forage I inspected the contents of the fridge. There was some leftover rice there. Leftover from New Year's Eve a mere three nights ago. Those of you who are chary of the fact that

Three Grain Baked Risotto

2012-01-04T18:55:00.002Z

No gallivanting last night, so I'm going to take the opportunity to note down a rather splendiferous 'using up leftovers' recipe I created after Christmas. I had come back home after a pleasant few days at my brother's with the turkey carcasse and leftovers under my arm. So I boiled up the bones into stock and for once used it immediately rather than popping it into the freezer and using it up

Billy Elliot

2012-01-03T13:50:00.003Z

So....as if two late nights in a row wasn't enough, tonight we went to see Billy Elliot. This is what happens when you have visitors from out of town staying. They want to do a show. To be fair one of them lives in Montreal and the other two in Almaty (that's in Kazakhstan for those of you that are not up on your Central Asian geography) where West End / Broadway musicals are few and far

Happy New Year Again

2012-01-02T13:20:00.000Z

For, as is becoming an annual treat, I saw in the procrastinators' new year last night.This is a fabulous evening hosted by my friend Gina and her gypsy jazz contingent at the Vortex. We are the Dalston Procrastinators. We count down to midnight and everything. It started because when New Year's Eve doesn't fall on a Saturday the Vortex usually ends up with no bookings for the following

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T13:17:00.002Z

Welcome to 2012.I saw it in in a very laid back manner - at home with some visiting friends from furrin parts. We played Pictionary, and Take Two and Consequences (because it turns out that despite being part of the Commonwealth these good folk had never played Consequences).As I said on Twitter - partying like it's 1880. Oh yes.

Snack time

2011-12-21T23:03:00.002Z

I interrupt this hiatus in blogging (sorry about that, I always mean to be a better blogger) to share this weeks great invention.....Drum roll please...................rice cake pizza.Yes really. Take one rice cake. Spread with tomato puree. Top with sliced cheese. Put under grill till cheese is melted.Yum.If you're being fancy you could add oregano.OK, I realise this may not be to everyone's

Yet more kulcha

2011-10-31T18:56:00.002Z

Rotten blogger is rotten blogger.Still, have been busy doing kultural things. What's new I hear you ask.Saturday: John Leguiziano one man show. None of us really had any clue who he was before we went (stunningly cheap last minute ticket offer) but fascinating insight into a how a Colombian-American made it from the ghetto to Hollywood. As interesting for me was the insight into how creative

Bad blogger, busy blogger

2011-10-05T22:16:00.002+01:00

I am a bad blogger. I post infrequently. I don't finish off things I start - to whit I still have to note down a whole heap of proms concerts.Tonight for some reason I am minded to witter.My beloved bike is broke. For years I hankered after a proper old fashion bicycle with a basket. I was a student at Oxford for goodness sake, surely I should have had one there, with the basket piled up with

Mysterious paper sculptures in Edinburgh

2011-09-19T14:49:00.001+01:00

How fabulous is this story about paper sculptures being secretly left in libraries and other places?And how gorgeous are the pieces. I'm in awe. And envy.Hat tip to GoodinParts for the link.

Greenbelt 2011

2011-09-01T10:25:00.002+01:00

So.....time for the annual going over of my Greenbelt Festival experience. After a few years of doing different things I was back volunteering again on Contributors Reception this year. Which, due to my lack of knowledge about who anyone is, leads to conversations somewhat like this: Me: "Hello, welcome to Greenbelt, can I take your name please." Them: "Bragg" Me: "Oh sorry, I need your first

A restorative cup of tea

2011-08-08T15:40:00.002+01:00

Apparently the riots spread to my neighbourhood last night. I say apparently as I saw no sign of them presumably because there are no shops selling plasma televisions on my street. There are many, many things I meant to do today that I have not yet done. Sigh. However I have sparkling clean nets in my bedroom. (Bedroom is at lower ground floor level and faces the street so some kind of

Prom 14: "Wouldn't you just die without Mahler?"

2011-07-25T14:08:00.000+01:00

Mahler Symphony No. 9 (73 mins) Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR) Sir Roger Norrington conductor I was away for a few days in sunny Suffolk but hi-tailed (hightailed?) it back for this Prom. Roger Norrington's last. Sitting up in the gallery as I was I didn't realise for ages he was conducting it sitting down - never seen that before.I loved it. There seems to have

Prom 6: It was all rite

2011-07-19T13:59:00.000+01:00

I really went to this Prom because a) I have a half season pass so thought I ought to get to some concerts and b) Rite of Spring is considered a modern classic and I really don't know it very well and have never heard it live. I did however go to the interesting Re-Rite a few years ago where the piece is broken down and you wander through rooms listening to the different orchestral sections

Prom2: William Tell

2011-07-16T12:04:00.002+01:00

Definition of an intellectual: someone who can hear the William Tell overture and not think of the Lone Ranger.As I've never seen the Lone Ranger but came across William Tell as a child (I have a horrible feeling arranged for a recorder group - can that be right? Hmm maybe it was as a simplified piano piece) I never think of the him, but am not sure that makes me an intellectual.Anyway, the

First Night of the Proms

2011-07-15T11:55:00.002+01:00

Need to note these down here to remind myself of what I went to!I love being up in the Gallery at the Proms but have only ever done it as a day prommer before. But this year I have a half season pass so should be going to quite a few. Judith Weir -Stars, Night, Music and Light (c4 mins) BBC Commission, World Premiere Brahms -Academic Festival Overture (11 mins) Liszt -Piano

Summer Cold

2011-07-14T11:17:00.002+01:00

Achoo, achoo, achoo. Sniff, snuff, sniffle.Today's blog is brought to you through a fog of sneezing and runny nose. Not hay fever. But a cold. A cold. In July. Not fair. In other news: the people at the box office at the Albert Hall are lovely. I'm going Prom, Prom, Promming, up, up, up in the Gallery but the pass confirmation only arrived yesterday so no time to send photos off to them and

Simple Summer Supper

2011-07-11T12:27:00.002+01:00

I don't normally eat a lot of meat. And I only eat free-range meat. I'd rather not have an animal suffer for my pleasure. But I found myself on Friday afternoon at a meeting over the road from an amazing organic/free-range butchers. And oddly found myself drawn to not lamb which I love and which I normally buy, but pork. Pork chops to be specific. I can't even remember the last time I had a

Cy Twombly redux

2011-07-08T10:53:00.001+01:00

Following yesterday's post I dreamt about Cy Twombly last night.And secret military bases with underground submarines. (I knew there were submarines under the ground because their periscopes were sticking up.)Perhaps I shouldn't eat cheese before bed.Though on a food related note (says she remembering that this blog was supposed to be about food and faith) gooseberry chutney is delicious.

Cy Twombly

2011-07-07T16:31:00.002+01:00

The artist Cy Twombly died this week.I'd never heard of him until I went to an exhibition at Tate Modern in 2008 that blew me away. The thing is reproductions of his work, such as the one I've pasted in here, really, really don't do it justice. Looking at it here it can seem a bit of a splodge of colours. But in reality - oh my - the energy, the movement, the earthiness, the sheer sexuality.I

Packing it in

2011-07-04T11:08:00.002+01:00

I've had a busy weekend.A friend stayed on Friday night and we stayed up far too late eating, chatting and watching the West Wing.Saturday morning I was out on the water paddling an outrigger canoe. Gorgeous day for it.Saturday afternoon and evening my father and step-mother were here. Which of course necessitated a lot of tidying and cleaning to get my place to the stage where they could tut

TGIF

2011-07-01T09:56:00.004+01:00

It's Friday again. Hurrah. And if I'm not actually managing to blog daily I do appear to be doing it a lot more frequently again. Double hurrah.Though they* say you shouldn't blog unless you have anything to blog about. And the main things I have to blog about I want to keep private for a bit. So really this is just wittering.I know, I can blog about my garden. It's all going a bit Pete

Taste of Summer

2011-06-29T10:19:00.002+01:00

My father gave me a big bag of gooseberries from the garden yesterday. They're the red kind and so sweet you can eat them raw. What's just amazed me though is that popping one in my mouth instantly brings back memories of childhood summers. I'm transported to the back garden (odd, because our gooseberry bush was in the front garden) and can smell the grass and the field behind the house. And

In other news....

2011-06-27T19:40:00.003+01:00

....I bought a five string violin* and it arrived today.It would appear I'm going to need to get my hand in again with the whole playing thing though. It's been a while. Pretty sure it's not supposed to sound like cats being massacred.*This will not be news to anyone who is my Facebook friend!

Friday Night Shopping

2011-06-24T20:12:00.002+01:00

I wasn't expecting to be home this evening. But my plans got cancelled. And then my back up plans also got cancelled. So I swung by my local shops as I got off the bus. It's just struck me that I purchased a slightly odd selection of things:- one large bottle of red wine. Well I guess a normal sized bottle. But it seems large in comparison to the-small bottle of beer- two baby gem lettuces-

Scouts and Guides

2011-06-22T10:17:00.002+01:00

Having a very interesting conversation in Facebook comments over Scouts and Guides. I loved, loved, loved Guides. I was a Brownie, a Guide and a Ranger. I gained my Baden-Powell badge. We were country guides so there was lots of outdoorsy stuff. But also other stuff - I do seem to remember organising a fashion show at one point. I have to admit there wasn't a lot of crafting - but that may

2011-06-17T16:26:00.003+01:00

OK so I haven't been the most frequent blogger over recent months. Er, years. But I've been rethinking my attitude to blogging again. I love reading blogs. And in particular I love reading those that are updated most regularly. And I don't really mind what they're saying. Even if they're just a quick blog about the trivia of the day. Or a link to something interest on t'web.As blogs get

It's a hard life

2011-05-30T07:45:00.002+01:00

I've been working this morning. On the verandah. Looking out onto lush growth: palm trees, pepper vines, ginger, jackfruit, orchids.....Someone* brought me a coconut to drink the water. And then returned with young coconut flesh to eat. Lunch is being prepared as I type. I would go in and watch and learn but it seems to be a quiet moment between the prepping having been done and the cooking

2011-05-27T10:27:00.001+01:00

I am staying with "mad axe murderers from the internet" in a village in Kerala. It's hot. It's humid. It's stunningly beautiful.And the food is quite possibly the best I've ever eaten.I may not come back.

Just Some Stuff

2011-04-08T17:54:00.003+01:00

The sun is shining. Always makes things brighter.I went on the London Eye again yesterday. Love it. Have been endless times and it's always fabulous.Met up with someone I haven't seen for twelve years. (She's Australian, we knew each other in Hong Kong and she now lives in Cambodia.) That was very nice. And gave me an excuse to go on the London Eye.My friend J fell in the round pond in

More on Soup

2011-03-29T19:44:00.003+01:00

Definitely losing my soup mojo. Parshnip tonight. All top notes and no base. Am really going to have to find somewhere that sells celery without plastic wrapping. This could probably be remedies with a bit of cream. Or yoghurt. But I have neither.Also, and I know this dammit, adding curry powder at the end in the hope that it will spice things up a bit more (I was unusally light handing at

On Soup

2011-03-21T16:03:00.001Z

I accidently made some rather bad soup yesterday. I had been musing on what kind of soup I would make all through Evensong and knew exactly what I was after - a clear broth with small even chunks of vegetables: potatoes, carrots, leeks...... then wiht some green leaves added at the end. And maybe a pistou stirred in. I went to the greengrocers and bought vegetables. I couldn't buy celery

Vitamin Soup

2011-03-10T14:55:00.002Z

Waaaaay tastier than it has any right to be considering how simple it is.The basic is just a broccoli soup. But today I added some celeriac that was getting a bit elderly in the fridge and a handful of spinach. So it's got to be pack full of vitamins right?Here's how it goes.The Basic:Boil kettle.Chop onion and a whole broccoli and put in pan.Cover with boiling water.Add a teaspoon or so of

International Women's Day

2011-03-08T23:00:00.002Z

I could and should write about it. But I rather think Tania Kindersley's said it for me.So all I'll say is this: I was at a work event the other week. I am pretty well known and respected in my profession and have done work for the hosting company. I was talking to a (male, late middle-aged) aquaintance. We were having a pretty equal and interesting conversation. An Senior person from the

Procrastinate, Procrastinate, Procrastinate

2011-03-04T11:55:00.003Z

I am a great procrastinator. I believe I am not alone in this. (Yes I'm looking at you, you know who you are.) It's a major reason why being a freelancer and working from home a lot is probably not very good for my soul. Or indeed my productivity. (And why whilst I like the idea in theory of doing a Phd I know that I'd find it very, very hard indeed actually to do one.) Anyway, the ever

Accidental Bean Dip

2011-02-17T23:28:00.002Z

Was going to make hummous but had no chickpeas. Or lemon. But found a tin of butter beans and some rather limp parsley in the fridge. Together with three elderly roast garlic cloves. (Just don't ask why on earth I had the latter still lurking in there.)And, together with a few other bits and bobs they made an accidentally rather scrummy dip. So I thought I'd better preserve it for

Yay

2011-02-08T12:38:00.002Z

My bank account was looking a little healthier than I had expected. So I logged in to find out why and....yay....it appears the taxman has given me some money back.Which is yay, not just because it's always nice to have money but also because it means I was right when I did my return and they did owe me money. I was panicking a bit that I'd done something wrong and they were going to be chasing

Giving thanks for modern dentistry

2011-02-01T19:53:00.002Z

OK, I know I haven't posted here since, gulp, well before Christmas, so I should probably start of this 2011 blogging on super bright note, jotting down the wonderful Christmas and New Year I had, and telling of all the great things I did in January. Which were manifold, not least of which being that I have already been to the cinema two times. I think that's possibly more than I did in the

Healing

2010-12-19T17:12:00.004Z

Prompt: Healing. What healed you this year? Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution? How would you like to be healed in 2011?Time. It's true what they say, it's the great healer. Of course the classic is its healing prowess for broken hearts and grief. But I have no intention of saying anything here about my emotional state. However sometimes physical ailments as well just need time in order

Wisdom

2010-12-12T13:14:00.000Z

What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?Blimey, these Reverb10 prompts are hard. I have absolutely no idea what the wisest decision I made this year was. I recently made some financial decisions (finally setting up a pension and setting up income protection/critical illness cover (I'm self-employed)) that I hope will turn out to be wise and prudent decisions but

Social Gathering....

2010-12-09T10:03:00.000Z

What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.OK this is much easier than delving into my personality.I was all set to say the amazing wedding of my friends V&P which was held in the Byzantine-esque Lady Chapel of Westminster Cathedral with a reception on a merchant navy ship on the Thames. But actually I think it was a party

Different

2010-12-08T20:39:00.003Z

I'm too tired to blog really (flew through the night and although the plane was pretty empty which meant I got a whole three seats so could lie down, I still didn't sleep much) but I've already been so sporadic with Reberb10 reflections due to sporadic internet access that I figured I ought to do something.Here's today's prompt.Beautifully different. Think about what makes you different and what

Community

2010-12-07T10:11:00.000Z

Where have you discovered community online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?2010 was the year I discovered Twitter. I had previously been very dismissive of it considering I spent far too much time playing around on the internet as it was. However, as I work freelance, I finally figured that it was becoming a necessity for

Making

2010-12-06T21:20:00.002Z

Hopefully I'll catch up on my missed reverb prompts at some point but rather than always be behind I'm going to jump back in again here.Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?And it's easy to answer. For I spent three hours last Friday making some batik. I was at a workshop run by a

Paved with Gold

2010-12-06T19:08:00.003Z

I'm way behind on my Reverb10 blogging due to not having had internet access for the last few days and I really ought to go and hunt down some food having missed lunch but I wanted to blog this before I forgot.Got a bus back to Accra today from Cape Coast, a few hours along the coast where I'd spent the weekend. The bus slowly crawled through Accra's traffic before disgorging us all at the bus

One Word

2010-12-01T22:50:00.002Z

I'm going to be attempting to do Reverb10 reflecting on the year. So here goes...Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)SpeedyI'm pretty sure I'm beginning to say this every year and it's also not really a reflection on the content of

More fun in the Sun.

2010-12-01T22:24:00.003Z

So whilst my friends and neighbours are busy posting snow photos I........sat through an hour's session on AGOA the African Growth Opportunity Act together with accompanying information on the USA's GSP and Harmonized Tariff Codes. Surprisingly interesting....dragged my schoolgirl French up from the recesses of my brain, only to discover that they really didn't teach us the right kind of

Still Warm

2010-11-30T18:58:00.002Z

So Jackie asked where I was.Not sure I'm going to give that away just yet but here are some snippets from my day......any guesses?***Not to rub it in or anything but I went swimming this evening in an outdoor unheated pool ringed by palm trees that was as warm as a bath***My breakfast conversation this morning went something like this:Co-worker: How did you sleep?Me: Not so well, I keep having

Off to the heat

2010-11-28T14:10:00.000Z

So after a relatively traumatic check-in ( there appear to be only machines at T5 which told me my booking didn't match my passport so wouldn't spew me a boarding card; I tracked down a customer service rep who made some calls and discovered the travel agent had got my first and surnames the wrong way round; so I was sent off to queue at Resevations where I got embroiled in the fallout out of

Confessions of a Book Fiend

2010-11-25T15:09:00.004Z

That's me, that is. Suspect it may be some of you as well!Copyright: Grant Snider. Found here after a tip-off from @greenbelt_lit

Tits

2010-11-22T13:00:00.003Z

There was a tit in the jasmine outside my window just now. I wanted to google to see if it was a Great Tit or a Coal Tit (I thought the former but couldn't then remember what the difference between the two was).I so nearly typed 'tits' into Google Images. Thought better of it just in time. I suspect the images that would have come up would not have been of the feathered variety.And goodness

5 A Day

2010-11-21T21:25:00.002Z

Do you think the vegetables in piccallili count towards your five a day? Because I've just eaten quite a lot.

One day....

2010-11-20T01:36:00.002Z

One day I will be organised. If I were then I would have spent last week or even the week before getting my Hep A and Typhoid jabs up to date at my doctor's surgery for free courtesy of the wonderful NHS.As it is, the nurse cannot fit me in and so I will have to go to the Travel Clinic elsewhere and pay £25. Still, cheap at twice the price if it stops me getting heptatitis or typhoid. And I'm

flatpack Hadron Collider

2010-11-19T18:29:00.002Z

It's been doing the Twitter rounds but for anyone not on there......Ikea instructions for building the Hadron Collider. Genius.

Done: Not Done

2010-11-17T10:54:00.003Z

Things I Have Done So Far Today:- finished and sent off the outstanding piece of work from last week/yesterday- had conversation with friend- booked opera tickets for tonight- arranged to meet friend I'm going to opera withThings I Have Not Done So Far Today:- had shower*- got dressed*- had breakfastIt's now almost 11am. I am going to rectify the above, starting with breakfast.* I work from home.

Good Things: Bad Things

2010-11-16T20:05:00.002Z

Good Things:- I now have a working* laptop keyboard (courtesy of new keyboard off E-Bay and one of my brother's team actually fitting it so I didn't have to attempt to deal with Very Small Screws)- lovely lunch with an old childhood friend- homemade butternut squash soup for supperBad Things:- it's flippin' freezing, my toes are like little icecubes despite my lovely Celtic Sheepskin boots and

Who you calling 'old lady'?

2010-10-25T22:36:00.002+01:00

At a children's party a few weeks ago a small girl delighted in chanting that she was playing pass the balloon with two 'old ladies'. That would be me and my sister-in-law's sister then. Humph. Neither of us are even forty yet you know. Still she may have had a point. This evening whilst preparing for bed I mentally added two things to my shopping list: hot water bottle and bed-jacket.Oh dear

I blig, I blog, I bleurgh

2010-10-18T19:51:00.002+01:00

Am in the throes of an almighty stink fest of a cold.Just when I was thinking it had got much better it appears to have taken a turn for the worse again. Moving onto my chest now. Lovely.Have been drinking industrial quantities of strong ginger tea and hot lemon and honey.Hot bath now followed by Spooks and then an early night methinks.Hope everyone out there is keeping well.

In which I am the queen of the pins (almost)

2010-09-27T19:02:00.002+01:00

I went 10 pin bowling for a friend's birthday on Friday night. And yes who got the second highest score of the night? (For our group I hasten to say.)Oh yes, that's right, me baby. Woo, woo.Given that my first two balls went rolling into the gutter getting nowhere near the pins and I forsaw a whole evening where I hit nothing, I am ridiculously excited.Woo, woo.

Looking South to Scotland

2010-09-07T22:26:00.004+01:00

I've been having Adventures.Yes, OK, I've also been working. But also adventuring and having fun. And more of that later I promise because really I had a very interesting time. And a completely mad juxtaposition of worlds.But I'm just stopping now to say that I got to look south into Scotland. Yes, you read that right. No, I'm not crazy. Nor was I on a boat or somewhere in Scandanavia. I

Bad Blogger

2010-09-03T23:51:00.003+01:00

Once again I am a bad blogger.I went to Greenbelt. It was fabulous. Though rather cold on Sunday night. I will do a proper post or two but right now I'm exhausted after five nights camping followed by less than 24 hours at home before jumping on a train for a two and half day conference that has completly filled my brain.Conference also happened to be where my maternal grandparents hail from

Marrow Cheese

2010-08-23T21:28:00.002+01:00

Yes, I found another courgette that had clearly been hiding not to be spotted till it was as long as my forearm.Anyway, I was in a client's office the other week talking about courgette gluts as you do and one of the staff there said her mother always made her marrow cheese. What's that, I asked. Well, said she, 's like cauliflower cheese or macaroni cheese but with marrow.Not something I would

Courgettes and Marrows Everywhere

2010-08-08T20:14:00.002+01:00

Aaargh, I turned my back for just a second and when I turned back there they were. Not one, not two, not three but four huge courgettes, the length of my arm from wrist to elbow and about as wide. I swear it was only a day or two since I last denuded the plants of their offering, I could have sworn there wasn't anything left to turn into even a small courgette for a day or so. But no, the

In which I am an idiot. Again.

2010-07-23T20:30:00.002+01:00

At some point earlier today I thought, "I rather fancy some poached chicken for supper." So I duly popped out in the afternoon and purchased some free range happy chicken pieces. I just went to the fridge to cook them and could I find them there? No? Oh my, I thought, don't tell me I left them in the bag. But no, I distinctly remembering taking them out and....Oh my heart sank as I realised

Procrastinate, procrastinate, procrastinate....

2010-07-20T13:41:00.002+01:00

...by blogging.Shall I tell tales of my garden? Where the monster courgette plant is going strong, the beans are coming along nicely, the tomato plants seem to be growing even if there aren't many flowers, let alone fruits, to be seen. The thyme is definitely suffering though and I fear the parsley has disappeared never to be seen again. The red orach has gone to seed but the tree spinach and

Doing too Much

2010-07-19T15:06:00.003+01:00

It is just possible that I may have tried to do too much last week. Too much of the extra-mural activies anyway. For what with one thing and another, including a marvellous (and random) Christopher Hicks lecture that I had completely forgotten I'd booked, huge thanks to the RSL for sending out email reminders, I was out every night last week.Yes, that's right. Every night from Monday right

Rain, rain, yay

2010-07-13T11:00:00.002+01:00

It rained. And is still slightly damp out.Yay. Yay and thrice Yay.Once upon a time I would not have been happy for this to happen in summer. But now you see I am a Gardener. Or at least I'm attempting to be a gardener.And oh hasn't my little patch responded well to it. My daylilies, having been in bud for days now, have finally opened up (actually I'm pretty sure this is the wrong way round,

Synod discusses Women Bishops

2010-07-12T09:47:00.002+01:00

The General Synod of the Church of England is currently meeting and discussing how women should be bishops in the church. It's contentious for two groups of christians - those who don't believe women should be in leadership positions and those who believe that the eucharistic sacrament is only valid if blessed by an ordained man who has been ordained by a man. (I'm sure there's a better way of

Fragranced Garden

2010-07-02T10:50:00.004+01:00

When I got back from the coast last Sunday I went out to water the garden. Upon opening the back door I was assailed by the most unbelievelably gorgeous fragrance. In the warm night air the perfumes hung heavy and completely washed over me. I've never experienced anything quite like it. I sat there and just drank and drank them in.Mainly jasmineBut also roseBlended with native LimeStunningly

Sunny, sunny, sunny...

2010-06-28T16:15:00.002+01:00

A speedy entry for I have Things To Do. But I need to keep up the blogging momentum.I've had a lovely weekend on the Suffolk coast. I went up to a wee cottage in Aldeburgh on Thursday night, worked there on Friday, took in some of the Festival (a prententious music-theatre-dance piece on Friday night, very self-indulgent and student but some glimmers of how good the young (looked about 12 but I

Broccoli - Chickpea - Tomato Curry

2010-06-24T21:51:00.002+01:00

I am in danger of forgetting this and it was delicious and I'd really rather like to be able to recreate it again. As with so many things in my life it was last minute and accidental. Oh to be the kind of person who plans.....Anyway, I was craving curry and, having had a few meals out recently, eschewed the easy option of a takeway for cooking my own. I put some rice on and had a go at making

Bolting Rocket

2010-06-18T13:51:00.002+01:00

My rocket has bolted. At about the speed of George Stephenson's eponymous engine. It was the first edible I sowed this year to come up and I was full of excitement. But to be honest it's never been the same since I abandoned it for a week's pleasure on Iona. My neighbour's bless them watered the garden while I was away and whilst I told them please, please to pick and eat the rocket, they

Getting in the swing of writing

2010-06-15T22:59:00.004+01:00

I live, I log....well I'm trying to get back in the habit anyway.Am currently blogging from a rather gorgeous little cottage in an Aldeburgh that is so cold we have had the log burning stove on this evening.Whilst in theory I've timed this wee trip with perfection as the Festival is going on, it seems unlikely that I'll actually make it for anything as I'm here with my brother and baby nephew and

Back to Blogging

2010-06-14T13:23:00.003+01:00

Inspired by a friend who has just blogged again and made me realise how much I missed reading her posts (yes F, I'm looking at you ;-)) I am inspired to put finger to keypad myself.I can't imagine I have many readers left though. Do feel free to wave if you are still around.I've been up to lots. There was a wonderful week on Iona in the company of fellow Greenbelters (including the lovely L who

A Letter to the Sun

2010-05-12T12:39:00.001+01:00

No, not The Sun. The sun.Dear Sun,It was lovely to see you this morning.Perhaps you felt we didn't give you a good enough welcome and that's why you've gone away again. Can I assure you that that is not the case. We really were delighted to see you. It would be lovely if you would come again and stay for lunch. And supper too. Perhaps the reason you didn't see too many of us around was

Election, Election, Election

2010-05-06T16:31:00.002+01:00

Just in case anyone's not had enough yet.I voted this morning. I was surprisingly emotional. I'd forgotten how proud voting makes me feel. I still remember the first election I ever voted in. It was for the European Parliament. I walked with my parents down the road to the social centre of the next door village. The same place I went to playgroup in. And placed my vote.This morning I went

The Leadership Debate

2010-04-16T16:27:00.002+01:00

I didn't watch it. Turns out I didn't need to, I just needed to read my Twitter feed which I did whilst waiting for the bus as everyone else seemed to be watching and tweeting about it.As for this morning's coverage of it, I loved this from the ever brilliant Tania KindersleyMy judgement on Gordon Brown is clouded by the fact he kept saying 'less' when he meant 'fewer'. He certainly lost the

Happy Easter

2010-04-07T16:14:00.004+01:00

For the last few mornings I have woken up, rolled over in bed and watched the sun rising all goldern and glorious over a blue sea into a blue sky. Now however I am esconsed on my sofa watching the drizzle.I've just had a fabulous holiday on the gorgeous island of Guernsey. I went over for a wedding and stayed a few days. Until yesterday there were a heap of other friends there as well and we

Sleepy Afternoons

2010-03-15T16:21:00.002Z

Often I find that I'm really tired mid-afternoon. Even when I haven't had a big lunch. I'm sleepy and find it hard to focus on work.So today I googled. Apparently I'm not alone. And some scientists believe a short sleep in the afternoon and a long sleep at night are our natural sleep patterns.And look, Winston Churchill was like me:“You must sleep some time between lunch and dinner, and no

Sun and Soup

2010-03-07T15:54:00.003Z

Brrr, isn't it chilly. But oh so beautiful with the sunshine. I've now had three meals out this weekend - lunch at a local Turkish place with my parents yesterday, curry yesterday evening and brunchy lunch with friends today and am thus contemplating making bottom of the fridge soup for suppler both for the state of my stomach and my wallet.I appear to have: two onions, half a broccoli, spring

Neglect...

2010-02-25T10:17:00.002Z

Oh dear blog I am neglecting you. I've been having a lovely few weeks and really there's lots to write about so there's no excuse.For on 13th Februaru there was Chinese New Year - where I gathered people to my humble abode and we attempted (pretty successfully) to make "jiaozi", Chinese stuffed dumplings. And I got a bit carried away and cooked lots of other things as well. And it was all

Disconcerting

2010-02-10T12:31:00.002Z

It is a tad disconcerting to pick up a voicemail message on your mobile that goes"Hello C [my first name], it's Mum here..."when your mother died ten years ago.Cue 'doo doo do doo' creepy music.As always there's a rational explanation. My step-mother, who my father married a few years after my mother died, also has a daughter named C [my first name] (yes that's right, I have a sister with the

Impossible....

2010-02-08T20:46:00.003Z

OK, I think I've worked out how Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre managed to win the Booker.It's because all the judges gave in reading it but didn't dare confess. Emperor's new clothes style.I suspect that's what happened to all the reviewers who gave it positive reviews as well.Honestly, it's very very rare that I can't finish a book but this is one that I've given up on. After several starts

Not the best of weeks

2010-02-04T18:36:00.003Z

This not turning out to be the best of weeks.The weather is miserable. I got not one but two work phone calls yesterday from two different clients bearing bad news. It's the wrong time of the month so I'm feeling mentally and physically wrecked. I got a very random text from an ex which has somewhat thrown me. Someone said they would call me on Monday and they haven't. I've had a carpenter

Caramelized Onion Houmous

2010-02-02T12:46:00.001Z

Whoever at S***bury's invented Caramelised Onion Houmous deserves a medal. Though they should also sell it with a packet of willpower as I cheerfully could, and indeed did on one occasion, eat the entire tub.Yum. Yum. Yum.(Does this fall into the 'I ate a cheese sandwich for lunch' school of blogging that is so despised??)

Cauliflower Dal

2010-01-11T14:40:00.004Z

Mmm, a bowl of sunshiney warmth on a cold day. (Albeit a slightly warmer day than others we've been having recently).This is loosely based on SusanV's Cauliflower Dal with Panch Phoran which I thought sounded great but, oddly given how vast my spice collection is, I didn't quite have all the spices. Given how tasty this was, I can only begin to imagine how delicious hers must be.Cauliflower

Frozen Britain from Space

2010-01-08T15:03:00.005Z

Amazing. This was the view of Britain from space yesterday. Thanks to M for pointing me to the BBC website where this NASA satellite picture was posted. Photo: NASA/GSFC, MODIS Rapid Response

Surprisingly yummy porridge

2010-01-07T09:25:00.003Z

So this morning as is my wont I tipped a pile of oats into a pan, added water and a handful of seeds, turned on the heat and then wandered off to look for fruit to add as well.Then I was struck by a bright idea. I could used up some of the leftover Christmas mincemeat and sweeten the porridge a bit by adding a spoonful to it. Which I duly did. Along with some leftover applesauce.And the

Away in a Manger

2009-12-24T18:18:00.003Z

Well, I couldn't leave that slightly depressing previous post up over Christmas could I?So....it's Christmas Eve. Later tonight as I come out of Midnight Mass I shall be scouring the skies for signs of Father Christmas on his sleigh.Earlier on today I finally got round to putting some Christmas decorations up and now I am feeling suitably Christmassy. I got to listen to a bit of Carols from

a seasonal pome

2009-12-22T13:06:00.003Z

Heard this at the fabulous evening of poetry and prose held at the Old Church again the other week. Let's just say it resonates......At Christmas little children sing and merry bells jingle,The cold winter air makes our hands and faces tingle,And happy families go to church and cheerily they mingle,And the whole business is unbelievably dreadful if you're single.A Christmas Poem by Wendy CopeAnd