Picture 1 is part of the building work taking place on the Ikea site and I thought this semi-covered walkway looked impressive. I spotted it midweek and decided to nip back Sunday a.m. and avoid the workmen. Inevitably I was quizzed by Security men as to what I was doing but my little heat-sealed ID card proved persuasive. Vice-chairman Tim did them for us and they have a photo and a statement from EPS that we are hobby photographers only. "Carry on mate" the man said. The snap is from nifty googler's Sigma 12-24mm with which I am deeply infatuated.
Picture 2 is 'Hannah's Headstocks' which she took yesterday for a competition she is entering in her age group i.e under 11yrs. They will be surprised I think to receive such a dramatic image. No influence from me because I was having 'an artenoon nap your Worships'. Maybe she could 'crop' for even greater impact, but we don't want the image to have the whiff of adult intervention about it.No sooner had I published the blog, about Steve's website design for Burton Joyce Primary School and the 'how to do a favicon for the logo?' question, than a comment arrived from 'Ourstanley' with the solution, two of them actually. Thanks Ray !.
This morning David and family came over. And this afternoon John rang. It has been great seeing everybody and we are so lucky to have such supportive children. I suspect they have thought that the falling-through of the house-sale would knock Y sideways ! But not a bit of it. She slept well last night and really does feel a sense of relief it is all over, at least for the time being. Me too ! I might just buy a Sigma 10-20mm of my own !
Tomorrow in full assembly, Brooke is to receive her 'Head Teacher's Award'. We are proud of her.
Great news for real cooks. Delia has a new book "How to cheat at Cookery" being published on 15th Feb, recipes from which are in the Daily Mail 'weekend supplement'. All those I read this afternoon sounded great. She doesn't actually 'cheat' at all, simply recommending modern solutions to problems. Delia is still 'my Delia'. For instance one recipe called for a slug of wine. She says 'rinse out the sauce mix jar with the wine - shake it, with the lid on'. And is all for pre-packaged, pre-prepared ingredients. A marvellous point she makes is that, although we don't have servants anymore, people all over the world are doing preparations for us. Dicing and sautéeing onions for us in France, chopping and reducing tomatoes for us in Spain etc., etc...... I might treat myself to the book ! And she is still a Crème Fraîche fan naturellement.
Comments...... Ray. Favicon solution already mentioned. But thanks again.
Bungus..... I don't know if Mark is annoyed by the 'twitcher' nomenclature or not. He is ultra serious about his bird-watching and extremely knowledgeable. He will travel with all the other 'hobbyists' to see a rare variety and goes to the Scilly Islands for a holiday, at peak bird time. But I would not wish to offend him by the use of a derisory term.
Sandra certainly sounds as if she 'had a good time' bless her. And if Y's former husband tried to smooch with her on a dance floor, with his hand on her bum, I too would be enraged. Even at 72, I would consider him seriously in line for a 'smack' and yet you sound as if you feel the guy over-reacted. Discuss please. You make a good point about cellars and temperature. Theoretically I guess the deeper should got hotter not cooler.
Are we in for a 'thread' about beer temperatures now ? We've done the boiling point of water; so why not I suppose? BTW your Brillat-Savarin quote about food was spot on. He sounds quite a bloke.
AnonymousRob.......Thank you for the interesting resumé of your house changes. This blog purports to be a 'journal of record' after all, and I enjoyed you account. No need to apologise for it in any way. We would all have reached the end quite comfortably I'm sure.
Quotation time..... I was going to regale you with a bit of a Stevie Smith poem where says words to the effect that "You can't be a Bishop of The Church of England and a fool. You can be a charlatan and a knave, but not a fool" ......... But I can't find the book...... I thought it was appropriate, as The Archbishop of Canterbury seems determined to prove her wrong.
.....Sleep tight and I'll catch you tomorrow..................(((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
4 comments:
I am very taken by your building-in-progress photo.
As a student I used to find that if you carry a hardback note book and a six foot rod you could enter almost anywhere (but I haven’t tried it at Rampton for fear of not being able to get out again).
Hannah’s headstocks photo is also extremely impressive. I would certainly be happy to have taken it. I am not convinced that cropping would improve it either. If it doesn’t win I shall be amazed (but, as you have noted, it depends who is judging. I suppose it could be considered too dark and threatening).
I don’t like the sound of Delia’s new book "How to Cheat at Cookery". But I grind my own spices if making curry and am no fan of ready made sauces etc. Tinned tomatoes are good though. And baked beans.
QUIZ:
Who is this (from The Observer Book of Food)?
“… it is reasonable to assume that … cooking skills were questionable (one recipe for Victoria sponge left out the eggs). So how was it done? Plagiarism. More of an editor than a writer … hundreds of recipes lifted from cookbooks. Some centuries old.”
I think travelling great distances to see rare varieties of birdlife could be twitching. Did he come to see the stork in Eakring a few years ago. I saw it by chance.
If I remember correctly, cellar temperature is 53/54F and the perfect temperature of beer a degree higher when it reaches the pump. Ice cold beer is an abomination which, in temperate climes, should be limited to lager, for those who care to drink it.
Holding these views, I believe I may now be in a minority. That does not necessarily mean I am wrong. But I don’t care if I am, which is a privilege of being a GOB.
Pat, like some other people, does not very much like his ex wife’s’s present husband and, quite reasonably in my view, was happy to have upset him. The husband was, of course, entitled to be annoyed and probably took it out on his wife when they got home. At Wellow based party’s it is not the custom to ‘smack’ anyone. So far as I know Pat and I are the only ones to have invited someone to break that unwritten rule and. in my case, that was 30 years ago.
I am supportive of the Archbishop. I suspect that he has been deliberately misunderstood and probably misquoted by the media.
And we can always learn from other people. Eg, if I understood correctly, the Muslim method of divorce (saying 'I divorce thee' three times) is much less expensive and time consuming than our system and is not domene lightly as it entails splitting things 50/50.
AnonRob:
By all means mention building works again. Would it not have been easier and cheaper to buy a pot-de-chambre rather than moving the bathroom?
I recommend reading the Honeywood File: An Adventure in Building, an old but very amusing book, which is available from Amazon. Or you might find a copy in a charity shop.
I am sure you realise that paving your garden will increase the risk of flooding!
From the CAMRA website:
Real ale is served at cellar temperature .... C (54-57 F), which is somewhat cooler than room temperature. If real ale is too warm it is not appetizing, it loses its natural conditioning (the liveliness of the beer due to the dissolved carbon dioxide).
On the other hand if the beer is too cold it will kill off the subtle flavour. Unlike keg beer which has to be chilled, real ale has flavours you need to taste!
Today we are expecting Paul the Plasterer to call round to size up a job. We have plenty to keep him busy. The interest in the house alterations was greater than I expected so I may send RG a snap or two for possible publication!
Yes, Bungus, it would have been much easier and cheaper to have a pot-de-chambre but then I wouldn't have got a new darkroom. The house was due for a refurbishment and it should look good when it's finished.
We had the garden done to try to avoid flooding. It slopes down towards the house so we've had it done on three levels which, we hope, will keep us dry. However, I have no knowledge in these matters so I can only hope. We have been OK so far but I didn't realise it would affect other parts of the country so badly.
I shall look out for the Honeywood File book. It's not a title that would normally grab my attention but it will now.
No smack at parties in Wellow? What kind of a place is it? You'll be able to pick some up in Mansfield.
The Observer Book of Food is talking about Mrs Beeton but, despite nifty googling, I cannot find the Stevie Smith poem.
Why is using ready-made sauces cheating at cookery? Surely, it's just the culinary equivalent of using automatic functions on a camera, ie a way of ensuring a good technical result?
Rob
Two cracking piccies today Graham. Hannah is a natural, must be something in the genes.What a brilliant photo for someone so young. Started on the Delia recipes already having had the Creole prawns yesterday. Absoluely delicious. Will certainly be buying a copy of her book...
Pete
I made a comment this morning and it hasn't appeared....can't remember what I said, except that I do hope Hannah's photo wins, and the judges are not looking for something pretty-pretty.
And the Delia Smith book - mine is on its way. It was £16.00 in Sunday's colour supplement, but only £12.99 (inc. postage) in the TV prog. supplement that came with Saturday's Daily Mail. According to today's Daily Tel it is already in the best-seller's list on pre-orders alone.
I made fishcakes today for lunch - smoked haddock, a little salmon, chopped hard-boiled egg, mash, flat-leafed parsley and seasoning. Dipped in beaten egg and ciabatta creadcrumbs (Tescos) and fried in oil/butter. Had a tendency to fall apart if not handled carefully - oh, I know that feeling! We had swede/carrot mash and runner beans with them, and R also had bottled red cabbage.
Owing to the fact that we can't get a gardener for love nor money (they all say 'too much work' - all they want to do are architectural-type gardens with a few pots) we have been tidying up ourselves - and now want a gardener more than ever.....
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