Legends, seafood, gardens and family - Cornwall

Two weeks in Cornwall in late September could have been wet and dreary but record temperatures and a near perfect location for a holiday cottage provided the basis of a wonderful family holiday. It is probably 20 years since we were last in the county and then it was in a tent with small children so the holiday revolved around beaches and very few extra excursions in the car. Gorran Haven was the beach of choice and still holds fond memories. This time, with visits from all the family for various periods of time - by car and air - we had a list of places that we would have liked to visit, places we would have liked to go to eat and we achieved it all - in fact, we exceeded our own expectations of how much we were able to do.
St Ives and the Tate were ticked off early in the first week - the only day of rain. The cream tea was also fitted into that day, albeit for lunch. Fish and chips, nay, monkfish and chips at Rick Stein's in Padstow was a family excursion. Jess joined us at the Lost gardens of Heligan and Trevano House. Charlie came to Falmouth and the Maritime Museum and we had wonderful mussels and lobster for lunch. The day we went to Tintagel was so warm that I could not manage the full climb to the top but the husband did and enjoyed weilding a sword in the English Heritage shop - a stunning location.
It is always a gamble booking a cottage online but photographs and browsing on google earth had given a good idea of what our chosen location of West Pentire was going to be like. Expectations were exceeded - a short stroll onto the coastal path and walks on National Trust land; beaches a couple of minutes away and views from the windows of the cottage - or house, actually; pubs within 2 minutes' and 20 minutes' walk; a shop in nearby Crantock and public transport which we used, only once. Visitor attractions can sometimes disappoint but not this holiday. The Lost gardens of Heligan were a wonder and the Eden Project - something I had been indifferent about - was outstanding in every way. My only negative experiences were some interesting deviations from sensible roads courtesy of the sat nav and a lack of wi fi which was solved by the extremely thoughtful gift of a dongle - a definite positive experience coming out of an earlier problem. I had a lovely holiday - straightforward fun and rest and relaxation. I finished my current knitting project, read the latest 2 Richard Russo novels on my list of must reads, walked every day and ate too much. I am often ready to come home after a week away but this time I was not. I wanted to stay by the sea.
Mmmmm - and the trip to Arizona is now to Las Vegas

B C C

My husband is the king of  BCC - bar code cancelled. He delights in trips to the supermarket about 10 minutes before they are due to close and purchases, it seems to me, anything he sees with a little yellow or red or blue sticker." Bar code cancelled"! "Reduced"! "Bargain"!
Today is our wedding anniversary. Last night he came home, thrilled, with a £15 Marks and Spencer bouquet for 80p - actually 70p more than he would have hoped to spend but that is, perhaps, maligning him.
Over the years I have been happy with the 50p chicken, the French loaves for 10p, various pastries for between 15p and 50p; pleased with the ready meals for half price but bemused by the 16 ripe avocados for £1 and the boxes of "past their best" fruit and vegetables. A box of red peppers earlier this year was a puzzle until half were roasted and added to a fish stew and the rest griddled and frozen to be revived later chopped into couscous with herbs and a good olive oil.
My personal shopping default setting does tend to relate to planned meals but a bag full of BCC goods brings a certain guilty pleasure especially when cost produces no guilt and otherwise extravagnt desserts are, indeed, a pleasure.

A day of quiet contemplation

Thinking about my Mum today. A time to sit in quiet contemplation and remember. Just one year on it is perhaps too soon not to be remembering the difficulties during the final few years; the strains and stresses and responsibilities of caring; the exhasution and frustrations of dealings with social services, the NHS, care agencies and the emotion of the last few days. But it is good to think of the positives and to look back  and recall days well spent. A marriage of 58 years and deaths within 10 weeks of each other must be a cause of celebration not sorrow. Looking back at old photgraphs of their life together  - thery were happy and together - a couple - my parents.

Defeated by technology - I surrender

Number one printer is old and slow and consumes ink cartridges in the same way as I drink tea. Hence the extravagant purchase of a number two printer which, allegedly, is much cheaper to run in terms of ink; it also has wireless capacity.
Initial surrender came whilst attempting to install on the elderly PC which is connected to number one printer. Software was loaded but new printer could not be seen. Fortunately the laptop was able to see the new printer and it was actually possible to print. So far so fairly good. Then I tried to scan. Old family photographs are to be shared, not hidden away in albums only to be brought out when relatives come to visit and, having recently re-established contact with a not too distant relative, I decided to spend some time scanning in some old photographs of our mutual great grandparents. An update to the software seemed to be needed so the 9 minutes needed to download and install was whiled away. The laptop then decided that it no longer could see the printer. Switching off and on seemed to resolve that one and a test print worked. One photograph to scan froze  - off and on again. This time a photograph scanned and was safely saved. Enthusiastically I tried the second photograph; this too scanned. Then I suppose I was getting optimistic. In the background I still have a "scanning" and if I cancel I know that I will get a "cancelling" and it will be off/on again.
So it is a secondary surrender. I never used to believe that patience was a virtue but it truly is and, combined with tolerance, makes life so much more bearable. It is not the end of the world. I just have to do the off/on again and give it another go. Perhaps next time I will get three in a row - perhaps not. The photographs are not going to go away.
They look as if they were having a good time:

A poignant day

This time in September used to be about remembering the birthdays of a couple of friends and a wedding anniversary. Then, 10 years ago, came 9/11 and, one year ago, my mother died. This year brings the delight of a new baby but memories and thoughts of loved ones.
I don't remember where I was when JFK died although many of my generation do but I recall with great detail the events of 9/11. I was home with my younger daughter who was waiting to go off to university. Her school awards ceremony was to be on the 13th when she was to receive the school cup for English literature - replacing her sister who won the same cup the previous year. On that memorable day she was watching a Doris Day film whilst I was in the kitchen listening to the radio when they annoounced that a plane had hit the World Trade Centre. I went in to the room and changed the channel on the television and we sat there gripped. I had been in New York with my son just a couple of years before and we had been into the WTC. Total disbelief.
Last year was probably the first year that I had not really thought about the anniversary of the date as I was spending the last few days of my mother's life with her in hospital. I had the privilege of being with both my parents as they passed away, within 10 weeks of each other and I shall remain forever grateful for that fact. Sitting here today thinking about 9/11 and my Mum and Dad I know that life will never be the same again. Yet life and people move on and we are about to move on to a new way of life. What will happen and where we will be are still unknown facts but life remains forever exciting and who is to know just what each new day will bring.

Coriander seeds

Coriander or cilantro has to be my favourite herb and it seems to grow so well in the garden. We have just stripped the remaining bushes of all the seeds - a most time-consuming occupation. Some will be used in cooking throughout the year and the rest will, hopefully, produce next year's plants. I like to pick the coriander and freeze it in small batches to use in curries but it is needed as fresh leaves in any kind of Mexican recipes. A handful thrown into a few chopped, ripe tomatoes with peppers, red onion and a slug of olive oil makes a simple salsa. Chopped avocado or mango makes a good addition and alternative.
My carrot and coriander soup always turns out to be rather green - an enthusiasm with the coriander. A simple soup. Gently fry aa chopped onion in a little olive oil, add some coarsely chopped carrots and a potato with a couple of pints of stock  - or water if that is all there is and cook until the potatoes are edible. Throw in a handful of chopped coriander ( or some from the freezer) and blend. I use the hand blender I used to blend baby food - it has survived well. Each time I use it I remember that electrical goods used to come without plugs as, for some reason that I have now forgotten, this blender has a vivid green plug. Sprinkle a little coriander on each bowl of soup before serving and a swirl of creme fraiche looks good.

The beginnings of a family tree

The announcement of a new birth brings my thoughts back to the beginnings of my life as a family historian. The impetus came, not with a birth but with a death as, I am sure, these things often do and today, just 2 days from the first anniversary of my mother's death it seems a good time to take my mind back some 13 years when, little did I know, my life would become dominated by old photographs, birth, marriage and death certificates, website subscrptions, churchyards, archives, trips to new villages which would suddenly become "home" and constant questioning of anyone who might just remember something.
It is the frequent lament of this family historian that I didn't ask enough questions when I had the time and the people there who might have been able to answer. I found out a lot about my mother and her early life only in her last years when I was spending a lot of time with her, just sitting and trying to think of new topics of conversation. I never knew about the number of times she moved from one set of rooms to another in her early years. I didn't know about the hats her grandmother had worn. Details that now take on a new significance since I can no longer question her. Some time after her death I wrote to her aunt who had been so upset at the funeral and asked if she had any old photographs or details about the family but, sadly, she was not the family custodian and I must be content with what I have.
My grandmother left behind a box of family papers which included, amongst other things, the funeral account for her mother in law; my grandfather's school leaving certificate; torn out pages from the visitors' book of the theatrical lodgings she ran in the 1950s; some old photographs with relationships usefully added - "brother" "grandfather" - ah, but which one?
But that wasn't the beginning. That came with an unexpected and tragically early death and the realisation that we are now the grown ups.

A new life

My God daughter gave birth to a little girl at 5.22am. Does this make me a Grand God Mother?

Afternoon tea

Afternoon tea is an instiution and, done well, is a delightful way to spend a couple of hours. The Angel Hotel in Abergavenny provides an ideal example of a classic afternoon tea. The best selection of cakes I have ever seen and tasted. Ideal for my particular taste - small examples and a varied selection. The lemon meringues and banoffee pies were a special delight.

Drawing on the example of the Angel I like to serve afternoon tea on a variety of bone china. I have a selection of cups and saucers and side plates acquired over the years and augmented by bequests. When such items of crockery were out of favour I admit to using fine bone china saucers as plant holders, particularly beneath my fledgling courgette plants in the dining room window. Now retrieved and well washed they have been reunited with their cups to provide an eclectic tea service.

I have six or seven designs of cup and saucer and prefer to use a selection - maybe 3 or 4 of the same design as a maximum. 2 sets of plates - 6 Wedgwood and an intriguing hexagaonal shape and 5 Royal Albert. If numbers exceed 11  a few waifs and strays add to the pile. For teapots I use the everyday rose sprigged china pot for breakfast tea and a tall Royal Albert teapot for Earl Grey. The younger daughter has more sophisticated taste in tea so that would be available but I try not to go too over the top.

I do not possess a tiered cake stand - and that would be a hint to anyone reading who may be in the category who would make a note of that, and use my 3 cake stands and a variety of small plates for the sandwiches and cakes.

Laying the table is important. A clean linen table cloth - I prefer cream as it is the only one I have which is large enough. A variety of linen napkins. Flowers as a centre piece. Small white roses work well.

I make only open sandwiches - a slice from a small homemade loaf making 4 small bites. Smoked salmon, obviously, egg mayonnaise, a crab pate  or fresh crab mixed with a seafood sauce and chilli, a decent ham and, in season, goats's cheese with a quarter fig drizzled with honey.

I like small slices of cake - lemon drizzle,apple, chocolate, courgette loaf, a selection of cupcakes with fancy icing, chocolate brownies. I also like to serve a bowl of fruit - maybe some strawberries or some sliced figs. Scones should be warm and served with butter (unsalted) thick cream and jam. I once took the brownies out too early and, instead of slicing them, scooped them out and served them in small glass bowls with some creme fraiche and raspberries.
Tea must be served fresh and at regular intervals. Milk and lemon available .It is surprising how many cups of tea can be consumed whilst nibbling delicious morsels.

A signature dish

Visitors for the weekend and a dash to be well prepared. Online shopping is such an excellent idea but the choice of menu is never easy. Plenty of baking in advance and ready in the freezer - a few multigrain loaves, a lemon drizzle cake, chocolate brownies and a courgette loaf. For main meals there is frozen courgette and pea soup with loads of garlic and then what? Lasagne and moussaka are usually good stand bys - lasagne with roasted vegetables a popular choice and yet another way to use up all the courgettes and moussaka made with griddled courgettes in place of the aubergine. Some ratatouille with added courgettes to eat with tagliatelle or spaghetti then, for a special meal, my favourite fish stew or a fish pie.
So the weekend menu includes a simple breakfast, lunch out and an evening meal of fish stew followed by syllabub and Sunday breakfast out at a local restaurant followed by an afternoon tea to include sandwiches made from homemade bread and a selection of defrosted cakes and freshly made or bought scones.

Apple cake

 A blustery day brought a garden full of windfalls. I like to make apple cake which freezes well. I adapted the recipe from a lemon drizzle cake basic recipe and, inevitably, use eggs from the hens.

Ingredients
8oz butter - we always use unsalted
8oz caster sugar - refined, natural cane
4 eggs
8oz self raising flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 or 3 windfall apples chopped into pieces about 1-2 cm

Method
Pre heat the oven to gas mark 3
Melt the butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds then cream together, using an electric hand whisk with the sugar until the mixture is pale in colour.
Add the eggs one at a time beating each one well in
Sift in half the flour and the cinnamon and fold in to the mixture.
Add the apples to the remaining flour so that the apple pieces are coated in flour before gently folding them all in.
Spoon the mixture into a 2lb loaf tin that has been lined with a greaseproof liner. Alternatively I find that this makes about 12 apple muffin type cakes - lovely for breakfast.
Bake in the middle of the oven for about an hour for the loaf or until a skewer comes out clean. For the muffins raise the temperature to gas mark 5 and bake for about 20 minutes

Note to self to spend some time adapting recipe to use one set of measurements for baking. I alternate happily between imperial and metric.

Some dried fruit - raisins, currants, sultanas go well. Dark brown demerera sugar adds a crunch.

Younger days

Going back a few years with the same family. This photograph was a constant fixture in the bedroom of one of the sisters until her death and I came across it in a box at the home of one of her grandchildren. One of her great grandchildren wanted me to go through the old photographs to identify the people she did not know. With only 4 sisters and the brother we know that this photograph must have been taken between 1899 and 1904. The 1911 census shows that 7 children were born to the mother and 7 children survived. I am always delighted to see an old box of photographs being brought out and quite inconsolable when told that old photographs have been thrown out with the rubbish. This is my history.

Six sisters

What must it be like to be one of six sisters? I suppose you only know if you have five sisters. I know families with five sisters but not six. These six sisters dominated my early life. My grandmother was the youngest. She took on the caring role in the family. Never happier than with a baby or small child to care for. I remember taking my second daughter to meet her for the first time. Her fingers were twitching, arms held out in front of her awaiting that new little bundle. By that time she had moved from the original family home to the home of her 2 maiden sisters and that is where this particular photograph was taken. I was there at the time. There is another photograph with members of the family. I am kneeling at the front with another of the grandchildren of the sisters, Christopher.
I know all their names. I knew all their children. I am still in touch with the majority of their grandchildren and know the names of the rest. I know each time a new great grandchild is born. Their grandchildren are spread around the world - UK, US, Canada, Australia, Germany. This photograph was taken to celebrate the eldest sister's visit from Canada;she had emigrated in the 1920s.
There was a brother too.

House hunting pros and cons

Over the years we have lived in ex army accommodation, a new build link town house, a Victorian semi and an Edwardian detached. Add to that the rented properties: the annex to a lovely old cottage alongside a railway line; the detached bungalow without heating in Chirk; the slug infested studio in a magnificent period home; the flat overlooking Portland naval base and the decision to try to get it right this time weighs heavily on my shoulders.
The list of basic requirements is quite straightforward:
One reception room - at least
Kitchen large enough to eat in and if it extends into a living area all the better
Downstairs cloakroom or, better still, shower room
2 bedrooms - not a problem if there are more
Upstairs bathroom with a bath
Reasonable sized garden
Off road parking preferable but not esssentail
Then there is the issue of location and, yet again, location. The search area is wide and covers 3 counties but walking distance to a small range of facilities is a high priority.

This week's shortlist includes 2 certain possibles. House hunting redefines use of language.
Number one:
Pros - ideal location, beautiful looking property, perfect kitchen,
Cons - no parking, over budget
Number two:
Pros - location, garden, aga, some parking
Cons - no downstairs cloakroom, considerably over budget

House hunting is about compromise and over the past year compromises have been accepted - some, at least. In the meantime the search continues, the sat-nav proves to be the third most useful piece of technology after the laptop and the iphone and the flat continues to be the benchmark for size and convenience.

Behind the eyes

Born in 1852 and went to sea in the Merchant navy. Married a woman 25 years his junior and lied about his age on his marriage certificate! Aboard the SS Papanui which caught fire in 1911 on route to Cape Town and was beached at St Helena. Wrote to his wife later that same year from Christchurch, New Zealand where he was waiting for sheep.....
Family trees have roots and branches and leaves and there is a depth of colour and interest. Scratching at the bark, lives are revealled in all their fascinating detail. What may be trivia at that time becomes fascination 160 years later.

Tracing Family Trees - the farmer, the undertaker and various butchers

I wish I had asked more questions. A typical lament of the amateur genealogsit. My grandmother would have known the answer; who is that in the wedding photograph behind the bride? those dates don't match what he said.
My paternal grandfather could never remember the exact date of his birthday. It was one day either way. My Dad knew who we were related to but not how and some names I am still working on to find the connection. Naming traditions are all very well except when cousins and aunts and uncles all us the same traditions. Thank goodness for Enos, I thought, when I found that name in a family. That was until I found two of them with the same uncommon surname, in the same area and, naturally, the one I researched in depth, with the more appropriate age, turned out to be the wrong one.
So back to the farmer, the undertaker and the butchers. One farmer had the sense and the foresight for subsequent generations of genealogists to leave a will when he died in 1780. From that point researches unearthed a real life Bleak House probate dispute, the family name remaining on the firm of undertakers and the still undiscovered links to the butchers - the Wooliscrofts in Bucknall, the Jones's in Cliff Vale and the Palmers in Etruria. Wonderful evocative names of childhood. A puzzle to entertain in that frustraing way for years to come. Do all genealogists like crosswords and jigsaws too?

Sad news

Terribly sad news. One of the White Stars - I think it is Simon rather than Garfunkel, has just been killed by a fox. I was standing in the kitchen watching them when I saw Doris leap over the fence which is supposed to keep them from the restricted area at the bottom of the garden. I could hear rustling in the hedge and could see a flash of red.brown. Thinking it was one of the columbines I called her and then was horrifed to see a fox. I screamed at it and ran down to quickly capture the rest of them. I could only find 8 and was frantically searching for the last one when I guessed she may have been laying and, fortunately, she was. So only nine hens left now. I wonder if I could have done more. Should I have stayed outside with them? Probably not. The capture was close to the house; it is unlikely that I could have done anything. The circle of life as someone I know might say.

Facebook, Twitter etc

Just noticed Stephen Fry tweeting about Jottify - site for new writing. May take a look later. Was quite keen on twitter  for a while a couple of years ago before events overtook. Playing games on facebook a bit of a guilty pleasure - still have that competitive streak.

Musing

P J Harvey well deserved winner but delightful that Gwilym was nominated as the token jazz artist.
I enjoy the simple things in life like popping round to see a neighbour and dear friend on her birthday. How does one adjust to moving to a new location away from those old friends and acquaintances made during the 30 years spent living in one place? Just how easy is it nowadays to meet that sort of new friend without the essential appendage of a baby, a school age child, a pet who needs walking ( chickens on leads?) There are so many uncertainties about uprooting. Still rather like the house in Llantwit Major but the Abergavenny one is more within the price bracket. A list of pros and cons I think.
No bookings made for Arizona as yet - waiting for confirmation of accommodation. Do many families stay so closely in touch today? The family trip will include the grandchildren of my Dad's cousins - close relatives for me, someone from a family where I have contact with the great great great grand daughter of my great grandmother's sister - just another "cousin".

Phoenix Arizona and Llantwit Major

Planning our trip to Arizona to celebrate my aunt's 85th birthday.Google map searches looking a bit schizophrenic - Scottsdale Arizona one moment and Llantwit Major the next. Is my search history as crazy as my tunes on the i pod?  That would make interesting reading online other people's that is - rather like a long version of Desert Island discs but a lot more choices. Might start thinking about my list of 8 later after watching the Mercury prize winner - go Gwilym.

Listening to The Archers

Sitting trawling through property websites I wonder if I am looking for Ambridge. A small cottage in a village with a pub and a local shop with good transport links to a larger town. A traditional cottage with 2 or 3 bedrooms and a large garden to grow vegetables and keep hens. A good sense of community - maybe a village hall with activities for all ages.
Then I realise what I would miss. Buses into a large town every 10 minutes or so. The following within an easy walk - about 10 minutes - doctor, dentist, hairdresser,beauty therapist, and M & S, fruit and vegetable shop, minor supermarket, various bars and restaurants and coffee shops, a traditional hardware shop, countless pubs, schools, nurseries,opticians. I can do without the banks and estate agents, perhaps even the charity shops but do I really want an Ambridge where everyone seems to know everything about each other and gets involved with everything that is going on?
The search criteria on the property webistes don't help with all that. I can select pretty wide areas in which to search, narrow down the number of bedrooms and the asking price. I can even select street view and take a wander around the area but it doesn't help. I am going to have to call the relevant estate agents and arrange viewings. I remember when you actually met the owners and could ask about the locality but now it all seems to be escorted viewings. When we bought our third home in a completely new location we met the owner by chance in an estate agents. He took us back to his house telling us that we wouldn't find anything better. His wife was a midwife and understanding of our 3 month old baby. They recommended doctors and dentists, gave directions to the clinic. We bought the house. Eighteen months later when I went into hospital to have my second child the midwife on the ward I went to after the birth was the same woman. This new town felt like home.

Baby knitting

I just love that moment when someone announces an imminent new baby and I can get the knitting needles out. There are so many new babies around at the moment that I am in my element.

Classic baby 3 ply. The pattern must be at least 30 years old but it seems timeless.

For a little boy due early next year

Tiny ballerina cardigan and ballet pumps. One went off to France a couple of weeks ago and another one awaiting a little girl due any day now

I had fun making this little set

Musing

Apparently one of the local gastropubs has a sign asking locals to take in gluts of home produce to be exchanged for vouchers for food and drink. Not sure that they would appreciate the courgettes but maybe the figs. Trouble is with the figs - if there is a glut we just eat more.

Obviously adapting to lifestyle changes - will see how it goes.

Serious incident referred to yesterday turned out to be a double murder - not the sort of thing you expect on a weekend away in Oxford - unless you are Morse or Lewis

Figs with rosemary - a wonderful combination
Figs with goat's cheese and honey on home made bread - even better

What to do with the glut of courgettes

Gardening is not my passion. I like to harvest the crops and I don't mind pruning nor cutting the grass but weeding and constant maintenance are not my thing. This year, as usual, we have a glut of courgettes or marrows as the ones left behind now have become. Earlier in the season I picked the smaller courgettes and made copious amounts of ratatouille for the freezer - light on the aubergine, heavy on the garlic and courgette. I also griddled and froze some to add to couscous with garlic and herbs at some point.
Some years ago Mary in Chicago suggested I make zuchinni cake. I adapted a Mary Berry courgette loaf recipe to make a courgette loaf which is wonderfully moist and moreish. It is so simple to make and freezes well. It has gone down well with some afternoon teas this year.

Ingredients
3 eggs - from the hens of course - gluts of courgettes came with gluts of eggs
275ml sunflower oil
350g caster sugar - I use unrefined, not the white stuff
330g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsps bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp ground cinnamon - I think I added more, I usually do
175g dried fruit - I used sultanas for one batch but dates worked really well with another batch and I think I prefer dates
150g nuts - I used walnts for one batch then a mixture of nuts. Need to be chopped but quite roughly
350g courgettes or marrow grated

Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 4 and line 2 2lb loaf tins with greaseproof.
Just measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix to make a thick batter like consistency
Pour the mixture into the tins and bake for about an hour until a skewer comes out clean. My oven took just over an hour to get to this stage.
Cool on a wire rack
I freeze the loaves after cutting them in half unless I know I will want a whole loaf.

Top 10 TV programme repeats

In no particular order:

1 As time goes by
2 The Wire
3 The Guardian
4 House
5 Everwood
6 Who do you think you are?
7 Ice Road Truckers
8 Inspector Morse
9 The Sweeney
10 New Tricks

I love Anne Tyler

I sometimes try to remember how I was first introduced to an author. Some are obvious - Jane Austen - school;Emile Zola - my friend at university, Rebecca; Daphne du Maurier - that time in school in France when we watched" Rebecca" with subtitles. With Anne Tyler it was the gift of "Morgan's Passing" with the comment that I thought you might like this. I did and then, in the way that I usually react, had to read everything else that she had ever written. I was delighted to see that there is a new novel due next year and it is already on pre-order. I really don't like that term "pre-order" but I suppose it does the job. Rarely will I buy a book the minute it comes out in hardback but Anne Tyler is the exception to my rule. Carol Shields would have been an exception too. Whilst I am awaiting "The Beginner's Goodbye" I am working my way through the works of Richard Russo. How did I discover him? I knew that I loved Carol Shields, Anne Tyler and E Annie Proulx and that they had all been Pulitzer prize winners so I googled and came up with a range of authors and Richard Russo was the first one I tried. The usual "read everything" is now on number four with a few to go. Delightful reading.

Doris, Kevin and Claudia

Doris, Kevin and Claudia.

Claudia is the disobedient Columbine who made an escape bid at the weekend - but she does lay blue eggs.

Baby mittens

A lovely simple pattern for new born baby mittens.

Double knitting wool and size 3.25 and 4mm needles.
Cast on 26 sts on 3.25m needles
Work 10 rows in rib - either k1 p1 or k2 p2 or moss stitch
Change to 4mm needles.
1st row - knit
2nd row - purl
Work another12 rows knit and purl
Now shape the top
Next row k1 slip 1 k1 pass slip stitch over k8 sl k1 psso k1 k2together k8 k2tog
Next row purl
Next row k1 s1k1  psso k6 s1 k1 psso k1 k2tog k6 k2tog
Next row purl
Next row k1 s1 k1 psso k4 s1 k1 psso k1 k2tog k4 k2tog
Next row purl
Next row k1 sl k1 psso k2 sl k1 psso k1 k2tog k2 k2tog
Next row purl
Cut off enough wool to make up the seam and run the wool through the remaining 9 stitches. Sew along seam to rib then reverse mitten to sew up the rib.

Make second mitten in exactly the same way

Ealing comedies and the hens

Wonderful that Ealing comedies are being given the recognition they deserve. I was first introduced to them by a general studies teacher in the sixth form. We watched The Lavender Hill Mob and I was hooked. The sheer brilliance of Alec Guinness and the dark humour mixed with slapstick - think Frankie Howerd and the horse in The Ladykillers - my personal favourite. I was delighted when my son watched Passport to Pimlico as part of his History degree; an excuse to buy the DVD so that he could revise! Just wonderful. Much as I like Tom Hanks I could not bear the idea of watching the remake of The Ladykillers at the time -maybe I will give it a go but I can't imagine capturing anything like the magic of the original.

Delighted that Doris, the speckled star, has stopped being broody and started laying again. She lays lovely dark brown speckled eggs. I know that it is not a great idea to name the hens but we recycle them - we now have Maldwyn lll - names are not gender specific - sure the hens don't mind

My favourite bread recipe

I was never successful making bread until I started to use this very simple recipe.

500g flour. I use a mixture or strong white flour with a mixed seed and grain flour. I am never precise in proportions and it doesn't seem to matter.We like a 75% strong white to 25% mixed proportion for everyday bread. I have used wholemeal and multi grain flour using the same recipe which has needed more water and hasn't risen quite so well but perfectly edible. Very much trial and error.
1teaspoon of sea salt. I don't use salt very much at all in any cooking and when I do only use sea salt so this was all I had in the house when I first starting using this recipe. You occasionally get the taste of a little grain of salt but that is no bad thing.
One sachet of instant baking yeast - any kind. I have used named brands and supermarket own brands and found no difference. I sometimes use ordinary dried yeast which you have to make up beforehand but the sachets are just so convenient. (If I make up the yeast I use 650g flour and make 2 loaves in tins).
One slug of olive oil. Possibly a tablespoon.
300ml warm water - about one third boiling to two thirds cold from the tap

I turn the oven on to gas mark 1.

I add the salt to the mixing bowl first of all and then add the flour. Then I drizzle in the oil, sprinkle over the yeast and add most of the water. I mix it all together with a wooden spoon, adding the rest of the water when there are just odd bits of flour around the edges which haven't combined.
At this point I turn out the dough onto a floured surface and begin to knead. I always knead for exactly 10 minutes using the clock on the oven to time it. I like to get a good rhythm going - kneading with the heel of one hand, pulling it back to a ball then using the other hand - Radio 2 seems to help at this point - kneading to music and dancing around for a bit.
After 10 minutes I replace the dough into a bowl to which I have added a small amount of olive oil, cover it with cling film and set it on top of the oven to prove for about an hour.
After the hour has passed and the dough has about doubled in size I then thump it down - literally and knead it into a boule shape - this doesn't take long. I put it onto a baking tray - I use a pizza tray which has a sheet of greaseproof paper on it and place it back on top of the oven with the cling film loosely over it.
I leave it to rise again for another hour, at some point raising the oven temperature to gas mark 7 in readiness for the baking. I sprinkle a bit of flour on the top if I remember.
When it has doubled in size again, about an hour or longer if I can be patient, I place the loaf in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes. It is usually brown on the top and when tapped on the bottom sounds hollow.
Cool on a wire rack and try to leave to cool before cutting off a slice and buttering it.

If I make a larger batch I use loaf tins which I have oiled with vegetable oil on a piece of kitchen roll. This bread seems to freeze very well. I make plenty in advance of visitors and can bring out a fresh loaf at anytime - they defrost quite quickly. Excellent for afternoon teas and breakfast toast.

One of the hens has managed to escape - one of the Columbines who lay the prettiest pale blue eggs. She can easily be persuaded to return.

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Husband's question to me whilst listening to Radio 4 this morning. I don't have a blog was my response, I have nothing to blog about. What do I do all day apart from look after our 10 hens, bake cakes - and my latest obsession bread, and knit. Maybe I am turning into my grandmother! Oh no - younger daughter has just texted to say that she was kept up all night by what the policeman she spoke to at 4am described as a "serious incident". I will add to hens, baking and knitting - children and, of course, the day job, seraching for a new home and the role of family genealogist.