Take the grandchildren to London!

The highlight of our visit - meeting Bill, the Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London

It started small

Wouldn’t it be great if we could visit London with the grandchildren.  A day trip? But there’s too much to see in a day! Too much to plan! A lot could go wrong!

Retford Station canopy detail over Platform 1
Retford Station canopy detail over Platform 1

This will take some careful planning

A small package of ‘clues’: an ‘I Spy London’ book; a children’s map of London; a London sticker book; a Union Flag wallet, pen and notebook – plus a ‘golden ticket’ – all parcelled up to make a unique and memorable Christmas gift which caused huge excitement.

Save the date

As soon as we decided with our daughter that we could go on the ‘Inset Day’ before the February half-term holiday, we looked for appropriate travel, visit and stay deals.

Travel

The first great deal was with LNER https://www.lner.co.uk/.  Booked in advance, seats reserved and for just a little extra First Class wahay! So that’s brunch sorted!

So excited. We’re going to London
So excited. We’re going to London

Easy to get around

Transport for London TFL https://tfl.gov.uk/make it easy to get around London with an Oyster card, or even more easily, cost-effectively and efficiently with just a debit card.  It can be tapped at the entrance and exit of every underground station – no faffing about with ‘real money’.

And now we’re on the Underground
And now we’re on the Underground

So excited!

Evie eight-and-a-half, and Jack 6 (and their Mum and Dad too) were beside themselves with excitement.  We arrived at Retford Railway Station in time to pick up a Costa  https://www.costa.co.uk/ and see some high-speed trains flash through the station.  And then it was our turn.  It was a special treat and worth the extra to have a late breakfast and unlimited tea and coffee served to us on the train.  Wow!  Did we feel posh!

The Tower of London and the moat in glorious sunshine
The Tower of London and the moat in glorious sunshine

The devil is in the detail

To plan an epic trip like this takes a lot of forethought, time and research. National Rail  http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ have a 2-4-1 scheme on many London attractions – that saves a huge amount of money and made it possible for the six of us to visit our first port of call, the Tower of London https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/#gs.YIrn5iaH.

The Union Flag in the clear blue sky, flies over the White Tower at the Tower of London
The Union Flag in the clear blue sky, flies over the White Tower at the Tower of London

Worth every penny

A call at the visitor centre to pick up an activity pack for the children which included a free badge and pencil and we’re in.  We managed to get onto the 1.30pm guided tour… and met Bill, the Yeoman Warder.  This man imparted so much in a very entertaining and engaging manner – if not a bit scary, he is not a man to be messed with.  The children warmed to him and were thrilled to have their picture taken with him.

The highlight of our visit - meeting Bill, the Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London
The highlight of our visit – meeting Bill, the Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London

The icing on the cake

Earlier planning had bagged us a couple of rooms at a very good rate at the Premier Inn https://www.premierinn.com in Greenwich – if you book breakfast and why wouldn’t you eat-as-much-as-you-want-buffet-style – the kids eat free.  Yes, Greenwich is a bit far out but there’s much to see there.  The Cutty Sark https://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark, the maritime museum, the naval college, the market AND best of all… for a modest fee you can get there via the Emirates Airline cable car https://www.emiratesairline.co.uk/.  Truly amazing views and we were blessed with a glorious sunset too.

A ride in a cable car over the Thames
A ride in a cable car over the Thames

Let’s tick some more boxes

After a comfortable night and a good breakfast we hit the road again.  I had no idea that there is a tunnel under the Thames for walkers from Greenwich to Canning.  This was a novelty.

The Household Cavalry ride by Buckingham Palace
The Household Cavalry ride by Buckingham Palace

The Docklands Light Railway

The DLR took us to ‘Bank’ then the tube to Westminster.  Eyes popped at the sight of Westminster Bridge, Big Ben (clad in scaffolding unfortunately) the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.  A fifteen minute walk to see Buckingham Palace was rewarded with the sight of the Household Cavalry riding by.  Another fifteen minute walk (those poor little legs) to Trafalgar Square to see Nelson and the lions… then China Town still decked out for Chinese New Year and finally Covent Garden which did not disappoint.

Say hello to the lions in Trafalgar Square
Say hello to the lions in Trafalgar Square
Always something to see at Covent Garden
Always something to see at Covent Garden

Covent Garden

This is the place to go if you are on a very limited budget – it just keeps on giving.  We saw performances by a West End dancer, a juggler and his bed of nails, street artists, musicians, a string quartet, an acrobat and a man with a Diablo.  Crikey.

Two new recruits on duty
Two new recruits on duty

Memories that will last forever

Exhausted but we still managed to visit Hamleys at St Pancras and of course the Harry Potter Shop at Kings Cross.  A monumental trip but so worth it!

...and of course, ice cream
…and of course, ice cream

If you can, don’t hesitate, JUST DO IT!

The Tradition of the Clayworth Plough Plays

An image of three of the main protagonists, the Clown, the Sergeant and Eezum-Squeezum

Plough Monday

Plough Monday can be traced right back to medieval times.  It traditionally saw the return to work after the break for Christmas, especially in northern and eastern England.  The traditions for Plough Monday varied from village to village.  Plough Monday was originally the first Monday after the twelfth day of Christmas, 6 January.  Epiphany.

An image of the Clown
The Clown

A unique tradition

The tradition very nearly disappeared during World War 1 and then again in the Second World War.  Credit is due to the players and the landlords of both village pubs for upholding this unique tradition.

The Sergeant in his bright red coat
Enter the Sergeant

Plough Sunday

Naturally, the day before Plough Monday is not surprisingly known as Plough Sunday.  This tradition more often than not, now takes place in Clayworth, North Nottinghamshire, on the third Sunday of January.   

An image of three of the main protagonists, the Clown, the Sergeant and Eezum-Squeezum
The Clown, the Sergeant and Old Eezum-Squeezum

The death of the earth

In medieval times and in the dead of winter it was thought that the earth ‘died’ and there was a possibility that nothing would ever grow again. It was difficult to believe that the earth would ever wake up and again provide food.. 

A battle between Light and Dark, Good and Evil, Life and Death

I am lucky enough to live in the village of Clayworth in north Nottinghamshire, England where the most well-known of these plays still takes place.  The ‘script’ is usually a bit of nonsense but has a hidden, topical message somewhere within.   A pretend battle is fought between Light and Darkness.  Darkness is killed and then brought back to life by some miracle. The death of the Old Year and the arrival of the New Year is symbolised in this tableau.

The village pubs

This year the play was performed as usual in the surrounding villages on the Friday before Plough Sunday. 

The Blacksmith’s Arms in Clayworth     https://www.blacksmithsclayworth.com/ and the Brewers Arms, also in Clayworth,  http://www.brewersarmsclayworth.co.uk/  both play host to the Plough Play on Plough Sunday.

An image of The Blacksmith’s Arms, one of Clayworth’s pubs to host the Plough Play
The Blacksmith’s Arms, one of Clayworth’s pubs which hosts the Plough Play

 

An image of the Brewer’s Arms, one of Clayworth’s pubs to host the Plough Play
The Brewer’s Arms at Clayworth who also play Bost to the Plough Play

It gets very busy

The bar at the Brewers’ begins to fill from 12.15pm and by 12.45pm when the players arrive, it is absolutely heaving. Get there early, get a drink and a seat… and if you think ahead book for Sunday lunch, you won’t be disappointed.

Old Eezum-Squeezum

A fiddler and an accordionist enter the pub, followed at different times by the players: the Clown, the Plough ‘boy’, the ‘Horse’, the Soldier, Old Eezum-Squeezum (sometimes known as Beelzebub), and the Doctor.  Sounds bizarre and yes it is, but highly entertaining and amusing with rhymes and short songs which have been  passed down through the years.  There is even a sword dance! 

It was once common for those who took part in these plays to blacken their faces as a disguise.  They might also include something to associate with nature in their costumes such as a flower or feathers.

A Morris-cum-Sword dance takes place in a very confined space
A Morris/Sword dance in a confined space

3D9E7B1B-7177-407C-B39D-7B9C81EDEEFF

Click here for a taster

Eezum-Squeezum lies dead on the floor surrounded by all the other Plough Players
Eezum-Squeezum – dead on the floor!

It’s a miracle!

The climax of the play is the fight between Light and Dark,  Good and Evil, Life and Death.  It culminates in the slaying of Darkness (Old Eezum-Squeezum) – who is usually brought back to life by ‘the Doctor’ – and everyone lives happily ever after – with a pint in hand!

An image of Bessie singing her lament
Bessie… or Bill Oddie!

Good luck, fertility and wealth

The play brings together farmers and villagers.  The purpose of the play is to bring luck, fertility and wealth.  You need to be there in order to get your share, so put the date in your diary for 2020!

A New Year message from Savour the Moment

An explosion of colourful fireworks above the Edinburgh skyline taken in 2015 by Eric Richardson

Hope… for the New Year

A New Year message from Savour the Moment

The beginning of a new year is a time of resolutions and fresh starts.  Dark, winter days can make staying positive very difficult.  But for now, we have hope.

‘Once you choose hope, anything’s possible’.

Actor Christopher Reeve
An explosion of colourful fireworks above the Edinburgh skyline taken in 2015 by Eric Richardson
Hogmanay fireworks, Edinburgh 2015. Photo credit: Eric Richardson

Dark days

Written in 1908 a poem was brought to the attention of King George VI in 1939, when the days were very dark indeed.   He included it in his radio broadcast to the empire. Who knows what the New Year holds for us?  It is so full of uncertainty. Here is that poem, a message of hope for us all.

The Gate of the Year

by Minnie Louise Haskins

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

New Year fireworks Photo credit: Eric Richardson
New Year fireworks
Photo credit: Eric Richardson

Happy New Year…

and as the comedian Dave Allen, popular  in the 1970s famously said: ‘May your god go with you’.

Make a stunning Christmas centrepiece

A very effective table centrepiece

It takes a bit of patience but it’s worth it

Make a stunning, table centrepiece using your Christmas cake and fondant icing.

Fondant icing reindeer and trees with tea lights to make a woodland scene
Fondant icing reindeer and trees with tea lights to make a woodland scene

You will need:

  • Christmas cake with marzipan icing
  • Large pack of fondant icing, I got mine from https://www.aldi.co.uk/
  • Rolling pin
  • Scalpel or small, sharp, pointed knife
  • Cardboard, pencil and scissors to make template
  • Icing sugar and water for the grace icing
  • A few toothpicks

Ice the cake

Roll out the fondant to the size of the cake, leaving enough spare to make the reindeer.  Dampen the marzipan and place the fondant over.  Smooth the surface.  Leave for a couple of days to harden before making the reindeers snow scene.

Christmas cake with a layer of marzipan under a layer of roll-out fondant icing
Christmas cake with a layer of marzipan under a layer of roll-out fondant icing

Make the template

Find a simple line drawing or picture of a reindeer.  Sketch onto a piece of card.  It doesn’t need to be posh card, I used a piece from a tea-bag box https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk

Cut out the shape and then… carefully and painstakingly cut out the reindeer.

Carefully cut out reindeers shapes using a card template
Carefully cut out reindeers shapes using a card template

Leave them alone

Put them on a board to dry out for a couple of days.  Leave them out of reach.  They become quite brittle and so need to be treated with great care.

Glace icing snow

Place three tea lights on the cake. up a paste with icing sugar and a few drops of hot water.  Use this to make snow drifts in which the reindeer will stand.

Set the scene

With great care place the reindeer in the snow as in the picture.  Use toothpicks to prop them up until they have set.  Some of the legs may come off! In which case they become  laying reindeer.  Some of the antlers may snap off – in which case they become does!

Use toothpicks to prop up reindeer until they have set into position
Use toothpicks to prop up reindeer until they have set into position

In the woods

Trees can be made from simple, right-angle triangles.  Lean three together in a puddle of glacé icing with a little icing spread on the edge where they join together.

Centrepiece

Light the candles and turn out the lights for a stunning, Christmas  centrepiece.

 

 

 

All you ever wanted to know about gin

Is it the weekend yet?

I like gin and so was delighted to have the opportunity to visit Plymouth Gin on a recent visit to Devon.  I discovered everything I ever wanted to know about gin.

The Plymouth Gin Distillery
Plymouth Gin Distillery

A visit to Plymouth Gin Distillery

The cost of a tour of Plymouth Gin http://plymouthgin.com/ is £7 (no concessions) and it is worth every penny.  There were about 18 others on the tour too.  We were asked to lock away our bags and cameras and switch off our phones.  A strict ‘no photography allowed’ policy is observed. Which is a shame, I  would like to have iincluded an image or two of a Victorian copper vat or perhaps a few ‘botanicals’. 

Good value

The tour lasts for forty minutes and is finished off in the bar with either a complimentary gin and tonic or a miniature gin or sloe gin to take away with you.  

The oldest distillery in England

Plymouth Gin has been on the Barbican near the famous harbour since 1793.  Parts of the building date back to the 1400s when it was a monastery inhabited by the Black Friars… and their distillery – it is now the oldest working gin distillery in England.  

The entrance to Plymouth Gin
The entrance to Plymouth Gin

A link with the Pilgrim Fathers

Plymouth is renowned for its associations with the navy.  One of its most famous sons being Sir Francis Drake.   It was also the last port of call for the Pilgrim Fathers before they set sail for the New World in 1620 https://www.mayflower400uk.org/visit/scrooby-babworth/notts-attractions/mayflower-pilgrim-visitor-centre/.   A wooden plaque in the upstairs cocktail bar lists some of those who boarded the Mayflower on their way to lay down the foundations of what we know today as the United States of America.  An image of the Mayflower, the ship on which the Pilgrims departed these shores, is on every bottle of Plymouth Gin.

A wooden plaque with the names of some of those who boarded the Mayflower in 1620 on their way to the New World
A list of some of those who boarded the Mayflower in 1620

Dutch origins

From its earliest origins in the Middle Ages, gin has developed from a herbal remedy to a major player in the spirit industry. Gin was based on the Dutch drink known as jenever.  It became popular in Britain when William of Orange became King William III of England.  English soldiers who fought in Holland in the 17th century, drank jenever to calm themselves before battle.  It soon became known as ‘Dutch Courage’ which we know today as drinking alcohol in order to steady the nerves.

Mother’s ruin

Gin was also known as ‘Mother’s Ruin’.  In the mid eighteenth century the effects of gin on the family and economy were disastrous. Gin was the poor man’s drink because of its affordability.  Drinking it had started out as a medicine but as it was cheap and readily available, men became impotent and women became sterile.  This caused the London birth rate to drop.  Also, drinking a pint of gin and having an extremely hot bath was recommended as a way to induce a miscarriage during the 1950s and 60s.

Botanicals

Botanicals are the core flavouring agents for gin.  They can be roots, fruits, herbs or spices.  The botanicals used vary but all must contain juniper berries by law.   

Juniper

Juniper is the most important botanical in gin. In the 16th century it was used as a remedy for indigestion. The juniper is a hardy bush and grows wild all around the globe. And it is juniper that gives gin its pine aroma and bitter(ish) taste. 

Coriander

When dried the essential oils obtained from coriander seeds provide an unexpected citrus top note to gin.

Cardamom 

Cardamom is one of the world’s most expensive spices.  It is from the ginger family and is often found in the rice portion of your Indian takeaway.  Not much cardamom is needed.  It can provide gin with a distinctive, spicy flavour that works with juniper and coriander.

Orris root

Orris root is from the rhizomes of the Iris plant and has a faint, sweet aroma.  If you are old enough to remember Parma Violet, then it is very similar to that.  However, it is not used for its scent but for it’s fixative powers. 

Angelica root

Angelica root, which we know as the crystallised green streams used in cake-decorating and trifles, adds another earthy note to the gin and marries the other botanical ingredients together.

Citrus peels

The oil derived from lemon and orange peels is used as flavouring in gin.  Different brands of gin use varying blends of botanicals which gives them their individuality.

Wheat-based alcohol

The alcohol that carries the botanicals in Plymouth Gin is wheat-based and comes from Yorkshire.

Exit through the shop

Three types of gin are on sale in the shop at the end of the tour: Regular Plymouth Gin is 41% and is generally used for a standard gin and tonic. (Tonic water originally contained quinine which was used to protect against malaria in the tropics.  The gin was added to disguise the bitter taste of the quinine).

And Navy Strength

Navy Strength Plymouth Gin which is 57%.  It seems that ordinary strength gin – if leaked onto the gunpowder on board ship – would render the gunpowder useless.  But they found that the higher proof gin, if accidentally spilled onto gunpowder, would enhance the properties of the powder.  And so Navy Strength was provided for officers of the Royal Navy, which they drank with water.  Ratings, however were still issued with their rum ration.

Plymouth Gin Navy Strength
Plymouth Gin Navy Strength

And Sloe Gin

Sloes are harvested locally from Dartmoor.  They are stored in sugar and gin for four months to make a delightful, slightly almond-flavoured liquer.  It goes well with Stilton as an alternative to port.

Copa Balloon Glass

I also purchased a Copa glass.  This is the type of balloon glass that has a stem, a bit like a red wine glass.  The Copa de Balon glass dates back to the 1700s – so not as modern as I imagined.

The distinctive navy blue packaging of Plymouth Gin Navy Strength
Plymouth Gin Nay Strength and Copa glass

Cocktails

A Gimlet is gin mixed with lime cordial.  Again, this has its roots in the Royal Navy, the lime provided the vitamin C and is where English sailors got their name ‘Limeys’ (from the Yankees).

A Pink Gin is again thought to have originated from the Royal Navy. Plymouth gin is a ‘sweet’ gin, as opposed to London gin which is ‘dry’, and had angostura bitters added as an antidote for sea sickness.

A typical pink gin is one part gin and one dash of angostura bitters.

A classic gin and tonic with a slice of lemon
A classic gin and tonic

So there you have it, everything you ever wanted to know about gin.  Drink anyone?

How to Make a Traditional Christmas Pudding

All about the traditional, humble, Christmas Pud

It is thought that the humble plum pudding’s association with Christmas goes back to medieval England. It seems that the pudding should be made on the 25th Sunday after Trinity and that it be prepared with 13 ingredients to represent Christ and the 12 apostles, and that every family member stir it in turn from east to west to honour the wise men and their journey in that direction. 

A colourful array of fruits and spices to make A traditional, British Christmas pudding
All the ingredients needed to make a tradional, British, Christmas pudding

The Church and the Pud

However, recipes for plum pudding mostly start to appear in the 17th century. It had a very strong connection with the church. 

The ‘collect’ for the Sunday before Advent in the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer begins with the words ‘Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works.’

This led to the custom of preparing Christmas puddings on that day which became known as ‘Stir Up Sunday’. Stir Up Sunday for 2018 would be 25 November.  I am ahead of the game this year.

Fruits from all corners of the world

There was a variety of ingredients and methods of making plum puddings.  Many pudding recipes often contained meat, as well as the sweet ingredients.  Before being steamed in a cloth the ingredients were sometimes stuffed into the stomach of an animal – similar to that of the Scottish haggis or sausages. 

I like to think that the fruits and spices represent all the corners of the world and symbolise the harvest and survival food for winter.  A pudding fit for a king!

A favourite recipe

It’s really quite easy to make Christmas pud.  Especially if you have a tried and trusted recipe – like Delia’s. https://www.deliaonline.com/   It’s always a winner and it always turns out just right.  Thank you Delia… although over the last 30 years,  I have made it my own.  It makes 3 – 4 puddings dependent on the size of your bowls.

The equipment you will need

A bowl, wooden spoon, sharp knife, grater all needed to make Christmas pudding
The utensils needed to make Christmas pudding

Ingredients (a few more than 13!)

  • 225g shredded suet http://www.atora.co.uk/
  • A heaped teaspoon teaspoon mixed spice
  • A heaped half a teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • A heaped half a teaspoon cinnamon
  • 110g self raising flour
  • 450g dark soft brown sugar
  • 225g breadcrumbs made from stale bread
  • 225g sultanas
  • 225g raisins
  • 560g currants
  • 50g chopped nuts
  • 50g chopped mixed peel
  • Grated rind of 1 orange and 1 lemon
  • 1 Apple peeled and finely chopped
  • 4 large eggs
  • 150 ml barley wine
  • 150 ml stout
  • 60 ml rum

Ten easy steps

Get help with the stirring of the pudding
Stirring the pudding. Don’t forget… east to west – and make a wish!
  1. Mix the suet, flour, bread crumbs and spices in a bowl.
  2. Carefully add the dried fruit, peel and nuts to the flour.
  3. Add the chopped apple, and grated orange and lemon peel
  4. Beat the eggs in a roomy jug, add the alcohol to the jug – pour over all the other ingredients
  5. Stir (you may need help) and make a wish – don’t forget to stir from east to west – and make a wish!
  6. Line 3/4 pudding bowls with greaseproof paper – no precision required.
  7. Microwave on high for 5, 6 or 7 minutes – dependent on the size of the bowl (a half litre bowl 5 mins) and the power of the microwave
  8. Allow to cool
  9. Wrap each pudding well in greasproof paper and either store in an airtight container or freeze
  10. Then, when needed, steam the pud for as long as possible – all morning if you can, just keep checking the water level.  My mum told me that the longer you steam your pudding the darker it will become.
Bowls ready for the pudding mixture
The prepared pudding bowls

When it is time to serve the pudding, unwrap, turn upside down on a large plate – flambé and serve with brandy sauce.  Amazing and quite a finale to Christmas dinner.

So, now you have time to get everything you need – just in time for ‘Stir Up Sunday’!

Savour the Homemade Christmas Mincemeat

Mincemeat – it goes back a long way…

About thirty years ago a friend convinced me that homemade mincemeat was the best.  She was not wrong and pointed me in the direction of Delia Smith https://www.deliaonline.com/.  Yes of course I had a Delia Smith cook book (well four actually), seriously who didn’t back in the 80s?  I loved that book, I never had a failure from it!  However, I did adapt and ‘improve’ a little and put my own spin on certain recipes.  But in the main, we have Delia to thank for this delight.

Ingredients for mincemeat
The glorious ingredients for mincemeat

The origins of mincemeat

I love the origins of the mince pie too.  The ingredients for the mince pie we know and love can be traced back to the return of the crusaders from the Holy Land.  Middle Eastern methods of cooking (which sometimes combined meats, fruits and spices – Heaven forbid!) were popular at the time. Pies were created from such mixtures of sweet and savoury foods (I am not sure about that either!)  In Tudor England, shrid pies were formed from shredded meat, suet and dried fruit. The addition of spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg was, ‘in token of the offerings of the Eastern Magi.’  During the English Civil War they were banned, on account of its connection with Catholicism. Crikey! The hubster would never have survived. I also believe it is ‘bad luck’ to refuse a mince pie (I avoid being offered one) and… you should always make a wish as you bite into the first one of the season.

Everyone loves a mince pie… well nearly everyone

They are well-loved in our household.  My son loves them with an almond paste/marzipan top.  The hubster just loves them! Fortunately (or unfortunately) I DON’T.  Anyway, here is my recipe for homemade Christmas Mincemeat:

The equipment you will need:

The equipment needed to make Homemade Christmas Mincemeat

Ingredients

  • 450g cooking apples, peeled cored and finely chopped
  • 225g shredded suet http://www.atora.co.uk/
  • 350g raisins
  • 225g sultanas
  • 225g currants
  • 225g ready mixed chopped peel
  • 350g dark, soft brown sugar
  • Grated rind and juice of 2 oranges
  • Grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
  • 50g ready chopped almonds
  • 4 teaspoons mixed spice
  • Half a teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Half a teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 120 ml brandy
Homemade Christmas Mincemat ingredients
Homemade Christmas Mincemeat ingredients

What to do:

Fresh fruit prepped for mincemeat
Prep the fresh fruit

Mix all the ingredients (except the brandy) in a mixing bowl.  Put the bowl into a preheated oven 120oC for three hours.

Fill your house with the amazing Christmassy aroma.

After three hours remove from the oven and allow to go completely cold – then stir in the brandy.  Fill some clean, sealable jars or plastic containers.  

Christmas Mincemeat
The finished product, Homemade Christmas Mincemeat

It makes this much! Enough for probably 100 mince pies! It will keep for a very long time. Yes, it is a faff but it is definitely worth it.  Savour the Homemade Christmas Mince Pies!

Yes, even more Soup

Celery soup

Celery Soup

Today’s soup recipe is not to everyone’s taste but most people I know like it.  It’s smooth delicious and nutritious!  A quick and easy recipe.  Almost impossible to go wrong and it freezes well.  This soup has a lightness and it’s great for filling a flask to accompany a Winter walk.

Recipe for Celery Soup 

(Makes enough to serve 8). 

The equipment you will need:

  • a sharp veg prep knife and chopping board
  • a large soup pan
  • a wooden spoon
  • a hand blender
Soup making ute sils
Equipment for making soup

Ingredients

Celery soup ingredients
The ingredients for celery soup
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large or 2 small onions, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 1 large baking potato, peeled and chopped
  • 1 whole head of celery, washed and chopped
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • Few shakes of ground white pepper
  • 2 veg stock cubes I used https://www.oxo.co.uk/ made up into 1 litre of stock
  • 150 ml milk

Step 1

Peel and chop the veg

Chopped veg
Chop all the veg

Step 2

Heat the oil. Sauté the onion and garlic for 3 minutes until translucent.  Add the diced potato.  Cover and cook on a low heat until potato is tender about 5 minutes. Add the chopped celery, cover and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the hot stock, stir well, cover and cook for 10 further minutes. Add the seasoning. Stir well. Cover and cook until all veg are tender.

Step 3

Remove from the heat. Blitz with a hand-blender add the milk. Serve hot,  or portion and freeze when cold.

Celery soup
A bowl of flavoursome celery soup

Variation

Sprinkle on grated mature cheddar cheese and serve with crusty bread. Or crumble some Blue Stilton cheese on top.

 

How to make a Lavender bag

Capture the smell of lovely English lavender now

Now is the time to harvest the lavender that is probably growing in your garden.  If not your garden then someone else’s close by!  Let’s make a traditional, English lavender bag together.

Snipping lavender spikes in the garden

Granddaughter Evie came to stay and so she was put to work with the scissors in the garden.  A good bunch of lavender spikes later makes a lovely display as they dry out for a couple of days – without water.

Fresh lavender without water

Ready to create an English lavender bag

OK so now we have our lavender spikes.  Here’s what else we needed:

What you need
  • A meter of netting (cost £1.50 from the local market)
  • A meter of ribbon (cost .75p from the local market)
  • Scissors
  • And of course… lavender spikes

And here’s what we did with the lavender

  • After leaving the lavender spikes for a couple of days to dry out pull off the flowers into a pile onto some paper
Lavender bag
  • Cut x2  9”/23cm squares of net, lay one on top of the other for double thickness
  • With the net partially placed under the paper, push a quantity of lavender onto the net as shown
Transferring the lavender onto the net
  • Draw up the corners and sides of the net without letting the lavender escape
  • My able assistant then tied a length of ribbon around the enclosed lavender – very tightly.  Learning to tie a knot in the process.
Tying securely

A souvenir of a lovely summer

We made enough lavender bags to give to Mummy to make her drawers smell nice and even one for Daddy for the car.  The smell in the kitchen was just divine.  When we learned that the smell is ‘soporific’ and relaxing grandson Jack said that he would like one for his bedroom ‘Because sometimes it’s just too hard to get to sleep!’

 

 

The Book Club

The original Barrister’s Book Chamber

A new book shop opened in town just before Christmas last year ‘The Barrister’s Bookchamber’ https://barristersbookchamber.com/   This shop has a very interesting, unique and Dickensian style.  It sells all kinds of books: antique, vintage, used, old, secondhand, paperbacks, hardbacks, fact and fiction in fact you name it and they probably have a copy of it… yes, even ‘Fly Fishing’ by J R Hartley.

The shop is Angela Rowntree’s baby, a barrister herself, who wanted to recreate the feel of a genuine Victorian barrister’s chamber just like her own used to be.  

The opening of the new establishment was a Dickensian affair too with Ebenezer Scrooge ‘greeting’ the constant stream of intrigued townsfolk.  All books very reasonably priced so a purchase had to be made.  I knew my son would love the very old and battered copy of ‘A Christmas Carol’.

Ebenezer Scrooge at the opening of the original book shop

The look of the shop has been very thoughtfully put together and the atmosphere is cosy, warm and inviting – particularly as it has a tea room which sells the most amazing cakes.  The urge to sit a while to stay and read is irresistible.

A search on Facebook found their page and very quickly the Bookchamber was posting about writing and poetry workshops, children’s book-themed parties, as well as guest author events and eventually the announcement that the Barrister’s Bookchamber was to start its own Book Club.  First meeting to be held early in the New Year. Was I interested? Yes, I was.

An all-female group (although a man has subsequently joined us) turned up from diverse backgrounds and with varied tastes in literature.  Introductions over, the first book was chosen ‘The Collector’ by John Fowles.  I think it would be safe to say that the following month, the group was fairly evenly split on their appraisal of the book, it was a bit – Marmite!  We have just had our August meeting to discuss ‘1984’ by George Orwell – it turned into a lively, political debate with some incredible insights and comparisons.  In between we have read Oscar Wilde, Gail Honeyman, Clare Douglas, Fiona Barton and Marian Keyes – an eclectic selection.  I think the only book we have unanimously enjoyed together is ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ by Gail Honeyman, which seems to be every book club’s read of the moment.

It was as we discussed the latter that I came clean and confessed that I had not actually read the book but that I  had listened to it on ‘Audible’ https://www.audible.co.uk/ Audible is a guilty pleasure of mine, it means I can ‘get lost’ without having to sit down or go to bed!  I can walk for miles, do the ironing, clean the bathroom, cook, bake – enjoy two pleasures at the same time!  I had expected hands to be thrown up in horror but they weren’t, in fact it was no big deal.  Don’t misunderstand me, I do love ‘actual books’ and I do read ‘actual books’ but ever since childhood, I have loved being read to and enjoy just… listening.

The Book Club has introduced me to new people, new books, new views and even new friends… and a shop full of amazing books, which I can either listen to or read.