THE GAME'S AFOOT !

I was far too excited to sleep much last night, I just could not believe that we got a result at last. I called my M. P.s secretary this morning and arraigned a meeting , she asked me if I minded her bringing along a few of our local councillors ….would I mind...I have been trying to get them here for the last two years!
Our committee is calling an extra ordinary meeting to coincide with the visit and I shall round up all the locals who have been complaining about t the amount of building in the area.

Realising that this will amount to quite a crown I intend to ask my neighbour if we can borrow his house for the occasion as he has an open plan living room and a much smaller kitchen than ours so there will be more room for the merry throng. I am going to be very busy indeed for the next few weeks.

Next Wednesday I am meeting with the head of human resources who is coming all the way from Northumberland to see us about our ongoing problems with our land lords land agent.
A friend of mine who knows about such matters as this is sitting in and taking notes, so that should be fun. Before this meeting I need to contact Pa's trade union, resurrect a load of documents and sort though a mountain of paper work going back a good few years, so it is small wonder that I did not sleep last night.

To have things moving at last after all the months and months of effort is wonderful yet I feel that I have been catapulted into the middle of things and I am in a flat spin.
What this illustrates however is that even one insignificant person such as myself can, if they are determined raise such a rucksack that eventually even politicians begin to take notice.

Of course things may not go our way but now we have hope,hope that perhaps we can save our garden, hope that we can stop the felling of trees for no reason and hope that we shall, at last be allowed to live in peace in our home with no further harassment from our landlord.

Halfway through the major Friday cleaning some visitors arrived and by by the time they left at almost four we were well behind with the chores. In his haste to finish the hoovering my son accidentally sucked a hot water bottle covering into the extremely powerful machine which then commenced to smoke alarmingly. Fortunately the damage was not permanent and after extracting the foreign body he resumed the job with more care.

Pa arrived home expecting that all the cleaning would be finished and we had not even begun to do the downstairs rooms.

The decorates arrived at eight this morning and put up their ladders, at nine their union rep arrived and they spent the next five hours in conference on our garden seat, after which they painted the front door before going home early...nice work if you can get it. I am jolly glad that I am not paying them.

This weeks comings and goings have provided our little cat with a great deal of entertainment. Sitting on a catnip bush she has watched with interest all the strange doings and listened to all the arguments an cursing, she will miss them when they finally leave........make it soon!

I have just returned from a visit with my neighbour during which we discussed plans for the meeting, he has much experience in thee matters and his contribution to our campaign could be make or break for us. He is a clever young man and he loves this area as much as we do his knowledge of procedure at meeting will be invaluable and we are lucky to have him, on our side.
More than anything right now I need a bad, truly I am not fit company for a hog at the moment having worked hard on such a hot day, pheeeeeeeeeeeew!
I will wish you a good night and pleasant dreams and for those who must work through the not a quiet uneventful night,

FUN AND GAMES

OUR ROBBIE
Still wheezing from the paint fumes I awoke this morning to the clanging and scraping of the decorators ladders hitting the wall out side my bedroom window. “Here we go again.”I thought and the day began. I spoke to the painters to tell them that the shrubbery was not being cut back because...wait for it I was not allowed to prune the shrubs myself! I had no idea all these years that I was not allowed to keep my garden tidy, it is very odd.

I had been told that the head gardener would do the job himself. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeK!... he however unwilling to be used as a cats paw twice in a week E mailed me to say that he would not be free to do the job until Monday at the \earliest. The decorators foreman read the message and remarked that he was certain that the job could be done without any of the shrubbery being touched, whereat I groaned loudly and asked what the hell all the fuss had been about!
The whole situation is ludicrous, you could not make it up.

We breakfasted on sultana pikleys with butter and maple syrup and then set about playing catch up on the week, my poor son who is exhausted give up writing after a couple of hours of coughing and spluttering . I talked him into going out in to the garden with a book away from the paint fumes for a couple of hours wishing that I could do the same but the bathroom needed tackling so that was that!

Not content with scrubbing the place to within an inch of its life I had decided to move the furniture about in order to make it more convenient for Pa and it took ages,the result however is good and I am pleased with the result of my labours.

Speaking of Labour , what the heck is Ed Milliband buggering about at, the fact that he manages to make David Cameron look good is quite and achievement in its own right.
Cameron, Clegg, Osborne , what a bunch of Muppets and then there is Ed Milliband. Come back Lembit all is forgiven!! These men are not statesmen like enough to get the country out of the state it is in. The cause is lost.

Inner tonight was roast lamb with potatoes Daupin and a selection of root vegetables served with a rich rosemary gravy....NOT a jus, A pox take all T.V. Chefs except St Floyd God bless him. I am in the process of putting together a box of home made goodies for our newly married friends. They have just moved in to married quarters (he is a bandsman in the Royal Artillery), so it is in the nature of a hose warming gift and I hope to have it ready for collection on Sunday when they come to visit. Every thing but the ginger cake and the chocolate cookies are done so I stand a good chance of getting it finished on time.

My neighbour has asked me to bake him a chocolate log for Christmas this year, when he asked I almost passed out. You may remember last year I told you have many things can go wrong with such a cake. Every year I make one for my son and it gives me the heebee-jeebees, to make one for some one else will probably give me a nervous breakdown, fool that I am I agreed to do it, I must be potty! That means that this year I shall be making a total of five large Christmas cakes of one sort or another and several s,mall one too , the One consolation is that the kitchen will smell wonderful for days.

I am back on the gin and tonic. This is not as bad as it sounds as it is purely medicinal you understand. Having spent the past few weeks covered in the most horrendous mozzie bits I have resorted to drinking gin and tonic to make my less attractive to the little perishers! It really does work, I sat in the garden last night for half and hour with not a single bite to show for it, it is miraculous. Try it if you are a sufferer, if not it is a great excuse for a good drink!
Well folks, my shrubbery and I have survived another day, tomorrow is Friday and the decorators do not work on the weekends so we shall have a little piece and quite, and since Friday is P.O.E.T.S. Day they will I hope knock of work at noon, let us pray!

Stop press....I have just recieved an e mail from our Member of Parliament Mary Macleod's office, she wishes to come and see for herself what is happening in our village...I can't believe it,it is such wonderful news, there have been a lot of loud cheers for the lady this evening,and people feel that at last our voices may be heard, I printed out the e mail and have to keep on reading it, I still can't belive it.

DOCTORS DISORDERS

Well I kept my appointment with the doctor this morning after all and perhaps it is a good thing I did as my blood pressure was very high . Under the circumstances this came as no surprise but it is rather disquieting as I do not see any possibility of a change in my circumstances in the foreseeable future. I need to relax I am told, the chance would be a fine thing, while we are at war with the ;landlord there can be no improvement .

Have not cut back the shrubbery yet, I have not had the time, to begin with that my doctors surgery was running an hour late and to add insult to injury two large screens in the waiting room exhorted us to be on time for our appointments..which I was......and and advertisement telling us “You are not stuck in traffic, you are the traffic.” Now guess what my G. P’s excuse was for being so late....right in one!

No sooner had I returned than the had a visit from on of the estate employees,he said that he had been sent to keep an eye on the decorators? We had tea and biscuits and a chat, he left at three. Finally, I thought I cant start on the upstairs cleaning...I am only two days behind with this thanks to all the hassle so it;s out with the dusters and on with the polish and what do you know, someone else from the estate knocking on the door. It was after four before I had dealt with him, weary, stressed and in sore need of a drink....and I do not mean tea....I returned to my room to finish the job I had barely begun, this time I made it.

Dinner was griddled gammon steaks flavoured with maple syrup and served with fried potatoes, hot tomato sauce and two eggs each. Having eaten a sketchy breakfast and having had no time for a snack we were ravenous and topped up with bread and butter, scrumptious.

Just as we finished dinner my neighbours returned from the holiday ,they ordered a takeaway and then came round for tea and cookies, what was left of the tomato sauce was soon polished off spread upon large slices of bread and we caught up on what has been happening this week.

Here I sit at my desk happily with a large gin and tonic......God help me if my G.P finds out!
I am totally shattered and the whole house reeks of paint, to which both my son and myself are allergic. Coughing and wheezing we have had to resort to our inhalers and my throat aches , I might have another G and T tonight, bugger the cocoa!

BESIEGED

Once more we are under attack from our landlord, this time they want to cut down a lovely shrubbery at the side of the house, this they say is necessary to allow the decorators to paint the eaves. Actually the decorator do not need the shrubbery cut down, they told me so this morning , it has more to do with the proposed building of the two houses on our vegetable garden.
I refused to give permission for the estate gardeners to cut down the shrubs and a damson tree the last time I gave them permission to give our vine a light trim the ripped out the whole thing They bare set now to force us out of our home it seems and the stress is killing me. We are now unable to leave the house empty in case they do any more damage. You see in order to get permission to build these houses they told the planning authorities that there was nothing but wasteland at the side of our house,now they have to prove it hence the events of the past couple of weeks.

Today almost the whole of my time has been taken up with attempting to sort this out, it is a nightmare I can tell you. Poor old Pa is so upset and this makes his illness worse which I find very hard to bear. I think that It is time to seek legal advice before something worse occurs.
I feel so ill today and having to cope with this on top of everything else has taken its toll.
Sorry about the moan but as the blog is about my daily life this is unfortunately my life at the moment.

One thing I am sure of and it is this. I will fight these people every inch of the way and do whatever it takes to regain some peace for my family, my G.P has warned me to stay calm but in the face of all this that is not possible. I know the risk I am running but I must fight on.
In the mean time I intend to cook a lovely meal for the men folk and try to take Pa's mind off what is happening. That is all for today, keep your fingers crossed for me, I need all the luck I can get. X

P.S Ihave poted another picture of our lovely fox to make up for all the moaning.

LOVELY MONDAY MORNING

I do love Monday morning when it is my son's first day of his week off, it has such a feeling of relief that there is no need to creep about the house like mice, no need to hurry,a lazy breakfast in prospect and plans to talk over.

My son did not wake me until nine this morning and I was grateful as I have slept badly of late. The hot coffee he brought to my room was welcome too, I lay in bed deciding on my activities for the day, how lovely it is not to have to bounce out of bed the minute I wake.
Blueberry muffins had been decided on for breakfast and as we do not need any bread until tomorrow I decided not to bake any today.

We did enjoy our meal and were very merry over our muffins and tea, afterwards my son and I washed the dishes and them I popped out to buy some tiny cable ties which I needed for a job in the garden. I have never been a fan cable ties , being made of plastic they are often cut through when their purpose is served and the left on the ground, now I am afraid that I find them a necessity.

Arthritis in my fingers means that tying knots in twine has became both difficult and painful so these tie are a Godsend when I am putting up nets or canes and I always ensure that I do not leave them lying around when I cut them off. Today I needed to make a cage for the broad beans so that the wood pigeons will not graze on them during the winter. I was on my way to the kitchen with some beans when a young fox, one of our tame foxes cubs strolled past me and went straight in to the house. Bold as brass he took stock of the kitchen, the living room and then went upstairs,I called to my son that he was about to have a fix for a visitor, he did not believe me.

All this time I was fuming as my camera was in my bedroom, I followed the fox upstairs where he was now examining the bathroom and being photographed by my son. Quickly I grabbed my camera just as foxy decided to leave, he walked out of the bathroom and passed my son and I with no sign of fear and calmly strolled down the stairs and out through the front door past an astonished Pa who was sitting on the bench. I followed him into the garden and took a few more snaps as he strolled around with a casual air.

Not so casual was the cat Twiggy who threw a terrific hissy fit which foxy completely ignored, she too followed him in to the garden and sat on the picnic tab;le watching him as he usurped her place. As soon as he had gone she made a tour of the garden sniffing and occasionally swearing quietly, it was a long time before she gave up and returned to her normal pursuits.

Life is full of surprises yet this is not the first time a fox has visited our home, they are so very tame now that they come when called and have no fear of us what-so-ever. This little family were living in our garden when we came to live here and every year there have been new cubs to enjoy, they foxes often join me in the garden as eager for grubs and beetles as the small birds, they are good company too as they let you know if a stranger aproaches, they are very territorial. If we lose our garden the foxes will lose there home, it is heartbreaking, our close relationship with the animals and birds with whom we share our home and garden make them family and they have so much trust in us that I feel I shall have betrayed them if I fail to prevent the building from happening.

I heard this morning that hedgehog numbers are dangerously low, we have quite a family of these in our garden too , they overwinter every year under the garden shed where it is warm and dry and full of dead leaves, they too will be homeless if I fail. These days my delight in these creatures is tempered with the dread of what the future holds for them and for us.
Still it is our Monday and was celebrated with a dinner of Cumberland rings with mashed potato sliced runner beans onion sauce and apple gravy...delicious and very seasonal.
An early night is on the cards and as soon as my son has finished his ablutions I too will bath and then, I hope a good nights sleep will follow. It has been a lovely day, perfect really, this is a wonderful place to live, I am so lucky, let us pray that luck will hold.

ALL RECIPIES GRATEFULLY RECIEVED

Many thanks Liz for the biscuit recipe , I often make savoury biscuits as we all enjoy them with cheese and yours is completely new to me and a very good cure for cooks fidgets. I hope to try the recipe this coming week in time for our Cold meats and cheeses meal on Friday. Pa loves a good savoury biscuit and he is looking forward to trying yours, I shall let you know how I get on.

This has been an odd sort of a day following on from a very odd sort of night. I did not sleep well, nothing strange there but the weird noises from the church yard were so loud that I was obliged to close the bathroom window to get a little peace. Quiet reigned for about half an hour and then in the lane outside our house two young men and a young woman decided to sort our=t there complicated love life with much shouting and recriminations at two thirty this morning. I soon gave up hoping that they would move on and got up to look out of the window and to be brutally honest I can not for the life of me see why the young lady was having such trouble deciding between the two young men as they were both very drunk an unkempt.

The language was rather picturesque too and at time most amusing especially when the taller of the two boys having loudly declared his total faithfulness and undying devotion=ion to his erstwhile lady was obliged to retire to the nearest grid to off load, by the look of it several pints of beer!

Turning my attention to the object of their desire I noticed that the girl appeared to be a sort of scruffy Goth, more than a little pregnant and e=wearing the heaviest pair of biker boots that I have ever seen, These combined with her obvious pregnancy combined with her slight build made her seen somehow fragile and vulnerable and for a moment I was concerned.
Relief can a few moments later when with a mouthful of extremely colourful language she set about the pair of them with her large handbag and shortly after that a taxi arrived and off she went leaving the two chaps nonplussed for a moment and then on brought out a packet of cigarettes, offered one to his late opponent and the pair of them , arms round each others shoulders staggered off up the lane like blood brothers.......it was three fifteen when I returned to my neglected bed.

With a few choice words of my own I gave up at four fifteen and made myself a pot of tea and helped myself to a couple of new baked cookies from the jar I keep in my room,I watched the news for half an hour and them at long last I fell asleep. It seemed that only few moments had passed when my son announced his arrival home with a cheery salutation and a cup of coffee and I was hard pressed to keep my eyes open as he told me about his night at work,I was jolted out of drowsiness at my sons vivid description of a typhoon in Bournemouth. “I knew that would do the trick.” he said with a laugh, he was right it had worked.

Felling tired I made a fast batch of pancakes for breakfast, went for a whiz round the supermarket....fool that I am.... and on my return home dug up the old courgette plants, now looking mildewed and after digging in some compost planted two good rows of broad beans for next spring broad beans are a marvellous vegetable as you can eat the young leaves,the whole pod when the beans are young an small and of course the beans themselves. It has been some years since I grew any as they have a tenancy to attract blackly and do not respond well to our annual March gale which usually leaves them lying flat on the ground and a pray to early slugs. “Have faith .” I said to myself and in they went...fingers crossed!

Tomorrow starts our week off and we have lots of plans, most of which will probably come to naught but it is fun to plan and whatever we do we shall as always be happy just being together company, nothing else is needed.
Have a great week yourselves, keep safe, sleep well and if you can not remember, a few cookies by the bedside are a great comfort in the middle of the night.

COOK'S FIDGET'S

From time to time I fall prey to a strange affliction know to the family as “Cook's Fidget's”, this has nothing whatever to do with the famous Shropshire Fidget Pie, it is a pest while it lasts and today I went down with a bout of this ailment. The cause is quite simple, boredom. When I have cooked the same recipe over and over again a strange restlessness takes hold of me and I begin to leaf through recipe books in search of novelty.

The trouble is that each time I fill the menu with new things the family and our friends find that they favour one of two of the new things and before I know where I am I am back to cooking just a few of the new things over and over and over again, and today it was cookies that caused the trouble.

I have literally hundreds of cookie recopies from all over the world but always I and up baking the same things because that it what people like. Do not misunderstand me there is nothing wrong with that but as I stuck the cherries and walnuts on the shorties for the umpteenth time this year , and by the way on Monday it was dates, I felt once more the desire to innovate, it was like an itch and the only way to scratch was to go in search of something new.

I hied me to the garden centre which has a quite arresting array of cookery books for some reason and at once my craving was satisfied for there in front of me was a beautiful book full of Christmas recopies and the cookie section was a veritable Aladdin’s cave of unusual and attractive biscuits that would be a joy to bake at any time of the year. With the onset of Autumn I could envisage myself snug in my nice warm kitchen baking these lovely goodies and that was it, I bought the book.

Next week while my son is at home I shall try out a few of the recipes to see if they are acceptable to my critical audience and if the y are I shall add them to my repertoire and bake them in larger quantities for guests and friends. Today I made six dozen cookies and this is something I do twice a week every week. The smell of these biscuits as they cook makes it worth doing and all our friends, knowing when my baking days are make sure to arrive in good time to partake of the new batch.

I certainly feel much better just having looked at the new book and I can not wait to get started on the baking.
Dinner tonight was a rich mixed game casserole with carrots, parsnip, swede and some of my home grown sweet potato together with onions and leek. The dish was served with bacon dumplings soft and light and a perfect Autumn dish. It was to have been a chicken casserole but I found the mixed game first and thought “what the hell”.by the end of the meal there was none left so the boys must have enjoyed it.

I hear that it is too become very hot next week so we shall be back to salads and light meals for a while I expect, I have been making stuff like that all summer......oh no! Cooks fidgets has struck again, of could it be just a relapse!

UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES

Late last night I received a telephone call from the secretary of our conservation group informing me that there was to be a meeting of the committee today at twelve noon.....very short notice”! After telling her that I would do my best to attend I went into a flat spin as Friday is one of my busy baking days . I was too tired even to worry about the matter and fell into a pain free sleep until four in the morning.

Much rested I got up early and by eight thirty was busy bread making after which I gave Pa a light breakfast of cereal and a pot of tea, organised my paperwork and got myself out in good time for the meeting. I shall not bore you with all the petty details but we did cover some valuable ground and made plans for future fund raising events inducing, we hope a celebrity, guest... and I mean a real from the world of wildlife and as many local politicians as we can muster. I t is good to have ambition I think.

The meeting broke up in good time and I congratulated ,yself as I cooked lunch for Pa and I at one thirty on having the afternpoon free to do the rest of the baking...I spoke too soon for almost as soon as the fatal words slipped from my lips a bang an the door heralded the arrival of a guest. “Oh botheration.”I said and “Oh blow.”..well something along those lined , I opened the door and realiswed that this was the end of my cooking for the day.

By the time our guest deprted there was barely time to prepare our evening meal of home baked pizza and salad but all was well and the meal passed withot incident, except that while eating it I acquired three more mozzie bites...I look is if I have the plague as I am covered in large purple raised spots about the size of a twenty pence piece and do they itch? Yes they do!

Basking all day in the Autumn sunshine my happy little cat spent the whole afternoon asleep on one of our cat nip plants,to her very great delight and it's detriment, really I am sure it will never be the same again. She has just arrived in my room and is sitting by the window looking out over her domain, mistress of all she surveys and mighty pleased with life.

Today has been reletively pain free and although the last few days have left me feeling frail I am sure that another good nights sleep will make all the difference in the world. The repair to my sons jacket, by the way, turned out quite well, I did not manage to match the grain of the leather but the colour is good and you cannot tell that the was a hole there , my son is happy so all is well.

Puss is now pleading for a fuss, at the moment she is asking nicely, should I fail to comply with her request she will without a doubt sit squarely upon the computer key board and there will be an end,I know my duty, goodnight all.

ODD JOBS

Thankfully I did manage to get a little sleep last night and this morning the pain was much less,for which relief much thanks. Such violent pain makes me nervous as I am never sure when it will return and I have taken so much codeine, Diclomax and Tramadol that I feel very dopey indeed. The crunch will come when I stop taking the pain relief, but that will not be for a while yet.

Unable to do anything energetic I decide to do a few odd jobs which have needed attention for some time and I began with the repairing of my son's leather parka. This venerable garment is much loved and has in consequence been much worn. Apart from a few sewing repairs to the seam today I took on the much more difficult task of repairing a hole in the leather at the collar of the garment.

This requires a good deal of patience as it can take several days to do properly. Today I began by trimming the hole to remove any jagged bits and after a good deal of fiddling I had a neat oblong hole with straight edges. Next I padded the back of the hole with a cotton wool pad, not the fluffy kind but the type used to remove make up. This done I took a piece of thick cotton fabric and using some copydex glued it inside the hole and pushed the outer edges of the hole flat to make as smooth a surface as possible. Now I must wait until the glue is completely dry and as this can take hours I decided to finish the job tomorrow to be on the safe side.

I may as well fill you in on the rest of the job and so tomorrow I shall mix some acrylic paint to the exact colour of the jacket and believe me I am darned glad that the jacket is dark brown and the hole is on the inside of the colour as this part can be the very devil to get right. Now comes the magic bit, while the paint is wet I take a piece of leather and press it on to the damp paint, this should and I must say usually does leave the imprint of the grain in the paint, we shall see...I will let you know tomorrow.

There were quite few small sewing jobs to do, buttons missing from shirts small holes in seams the usual sort of thing. I keep a tin of buttons as my grandmother used to do, if I throw away an old garment I always remove the buttons first and this means that I usually have the right type of button when I need it. I get as much fun trawling through the old buttons as I used to as a child when granny used to let me play with her button box, I remember the clothes that many of the buttons came from, some are from baby clothes worn by my son who is now six foot four and very hairy indeed.

I also save lengths of ribbon and pieces of tape as these have a multitude of uses when repairs are needed as do scraps of leather and fabric, I suppose the make-do-and-mend ethic of my mother and grandmother who lived through the wars is strong in me because of childhood memories. I found the sewing quite a relaxing occupation, vastly different from my usual frenetic capers and I resorted to the old way of watching the television the while, something I never usually do during the day time.

The sun shone in through my window and I wanted very much to go in to the garden but resisted the temptation as knowing myself only too well had I done so it would not have been long before I was pulling up the odd weed or trimming up the shrubs. Bored with being in the garden by herself my little cat came to visit, found and empty silver bobbin and spent the next half hour chasing it madly around the room. Under the bed, under the wardrobe and finally down the stairs,after which much refreshed she went back to the front garden and sat very prettily on the sun dial lapping compliments from passers by,vain creature!

We had pasta for dinner with two sauces, chicken and tomato for my son and mixed mushrooms with basil and crème fraich for Pa and I as we have both eaten far to much of my son's favourite over the years!

This evening I still feel rather fragile and shall be glad when Pa is safely tuck up in bed and I can relax with my hot water bottle again, I hope that I can stop taking the pain killers y morning but something tells me that it could be at least another day before that is possible.

Pa has given me a large bag of maltesers and I shall enjoy some with my bedtime drink, naughty I know especially as I should be trying to lose some weight but hey, who wants to live forever?

TAKING IT EASY

During the past few days I have been, shall we say, less than my best, an increase of pain heralded another bout of trouble with my kidneys and judging by my rising temperature some kind of infection is setting in. This may not be as alarming as it sounds for these infections caused I believe by kidney stones often go as fast as they come, sometimes however they do become quite serious so I shall monitor my temperature to be on the safe side and if it does become much worse I shall have to consult the medic and obtain some antibiotics.

In the mean time the level of pain has curbed my activities somewhat which is a great shame as I was enjoying pottering about in the garden, actually it is as my son always says more like tottering around the garden. I got up rather late and feeling rough but I did manage to make some bread and a nice bowl of porridge for breakfast, after that feeling exhausted...I had no sleep at all last night........I sat quietly with a cup of coffee and worked out my ingredient list for this years Christmas cakes, now don't groan, I know it's early but when I tell you the I usually make mine in mid to late October it is not too soon to begin buying in the large amount of ingredients involved in the enterprise.

Firstly there is our own large cake which is almost a traditional recipe but with extra cherries and fruit which has been soaking for months in brandy and rum. Then there are the cakes made for friends one of which is special as instead of mixed peel I use lots and lots of crystallised and preserved ginger. The resulting cake is wonderful....if you happen to like ginger. This year I hope to make about two dozen individual sized Christmas cakes for a party for some special friends, they are called jewel cakes and the recipe is from America. I have lots of American cookery books, their cakes especially are wonderful, rich, gooey and delectable.

They have names like Lady Baltimore cake and Election day cake and their coffee cakes - which incidentally do not contain any coffee - are made to eat with a cup of coffee are all gorgeous. One of my favourite Christmas recipe books is an American one which contains recipes for all kinds of Christmas events such as tree trimming parties. This has been a tradition in our family for as long as I can remember and I can as a surprise to discover that it is an American one.

While we are on the subject of cakes, I was in a quandary a few week ago when I was asked to make a cake for a friends birthday, he asked for a ginger cake and although I make a Christmas one it just did not seem suitable for a birthday so I racked my brains and came up with this.

Party Ginger Cake
6oz butter
50z soft brown sugar
3 eggs
6oz self raising flour
3 rounded teaspoons of ground ginger

Filling
Whipped cream

Topping
Chocolate glacé icing
12 slices of preserved ginger

Grease and line two 8” sandwich tins. Set the oven pt 350oC. Cream butter and sugar then add the eggs one at a time while beating like mad. Fold in the flour and ginger, divide in to tins and bake for 25 minutes.

When cool sandwich together with whipped cream which you may sweeten f you wish with an ounce of icing sugar to a half a pint of cream.

To make the glace icing place 3oz dark chocolate into a bowl over a pan of very hot water add a nob of butter and 2 tablespoons of water and melt together. Add 80z sifted icing sugar and spread over the top of the cake.

Cut the preserved ginger in to thin slices and decorate the top of the cake or if you prefer you can use walnut halves.

This really does look like a celebration cake and for someone who adores ginger it is the business.

I cooked gammon tonight which I served with eggs and a special tomato sauce which my family loves, this with a few fritters made an easy meal. I do not feel like eating at the moment but experience has taught me that not eating just makes thing worse and so I try to eat a little if I can.

What I want more than anything right now is a cup of Ovaltine and a hot water bottle to curl up with. I hope you enjoy the cake!

A MOUSE IN MY SLIPPER AND A SPANNER IN THE WORKS

Plagued by mozzie bites I

slept little last night neither antihistamine tablets nor topical creams made any impression upon the burning itchiness and eventually I gave up trying to sleep and decided to watch a film or two. Three hours later having watched a brilliant movie “The Langoliers”and still itchy I put on an old favourite Rebecca and half way through I finally fell asleep. When I awoke this morning feeling very groggy indeed I discovered that a small mouse, one of Twiggy's escaped takeaways had hidden in my slipper, I squealed in surprise as my toe touched the furry little creature and it squeaked in alarm when my big toe invaded it's hiding place.

The villain of the piece was nowhere to be seen and I suspect that the mouse was brought in after a late not foray and had headed for high ground the moment puss lost interest.
I popped the poor little thing in a tall glass and gave it a snippet of toast from last nights super which it ate with relish, it really was a sweet little thing and as soon as I was certain that Miss was distracted I put it over the fence in to the church yard where I hope it will be safe.

During the afternoon a problem with the gas metre caused trouble and in the end after much tooing and froing ,a visit from a nice young ma,n and more phone calls someone came to install a new metre. Our was they said a very ancient specimen such as was seldom seen these days. I showed them the certificate sent by our landlord only last week to say that our gas supply was safe and had been checked by a qualified gas fitter., and for a while the merry sound of laughter filled the room. We were lucky indeed that the small problem for which we had called them our originally brought this serious problem to light. Unfortunately it meant that I was unable to cook the gammon steaks with eggs and fritters in case they men turned up and switched the gas off. We had fish and chips from our local chippie instead....life is hard...!

My son is back in harness again although to my mind it is more like being a galley slave it is just a pity that the drummer can not keep decent time! I too an back on the treadmill and this afternoon I tackled the ironing at last it was as follow...twelve t shirts, seven shirts including the shirt of doom, five eight pairs of assorted trousers, four track suits and a motley collection of nighties.....it took hours.. and there are still about another ten t shirts, four more pairs of trousers and a couple of shirts!

Today I had the satisfaction of giving the imbecile who sent the decorators here yesterday a piece of my mind and believe me he needs all the donations he can get. I shall not go in to all the gory details , let us say that he is a sadder but probably no wiser man. The orchard has never looked better at this time of year and I am still picking apples and fresh figs every day, the grapes are ripening and plentiful too, with luck we shall have plenty of fresh vegetables from the kitchen garden during the winter months and early peas, broad beans and spinach too in the spring. We have still not heard if our garden will be allowed to remain but we are living in hopes that we shall sit under the old apple tree next spring when the shell pink blossoms break from the ruby red buds, and listen to the gentle cooing of the wood pigeon
that nests there each year.

I know they are in the habit of eating my seedlings but how could I hate such a lovely bird,
with its grey and pearly pink and blue feathers, just the same colours as the sky on a frosty winter morning, perfectly lovely.

A KITCHEN FULL OF COOKIES

Today was a busy one for me as not only is it a bread making day but it was also one of the two cookie baking days I have each week . People who come to the hose on cookie day always ask if I am having a party as I never make less than five dozen and sometimes even more.
Today I used one of my standard short bread cookie mixes and added chopped dates and walnuts for a change. This recipe is very simple, here it is.

4oz butter
2oz caster sugar
4oz plain flour
half a teaspoon of vanilla essence. I usually make four time the amount shown here which makes about 4-5 dozen cookies depending upon size.

Cream caster sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, add essence and sift in the flour. Mix to a smooth dough then roll in to small balls, place on a greased baking sheet then press each one down lightly with a fork dipped in hot water. Cook at 360oC four about twenty minutes then cool on a wire rack.

The changes you can make to this recipe are endless. I often top them with a half a glacé cherry of half a walnut. You can add a dessert spoon of cocoa with the flour to make a great chocolate biscuit and if you add a few chocolate drops or chocolate chunks you have a double chocolate biscuit.
A couple of ounces of toasted chopped hazel nuts make a tasty change as does a teaspoon of powdered ginger or a table spoon of caraway seeds. If you wish you can make these cookies finger shaped and half dip them in melted dark chocolate for a real treat, I could go on but all I shall say is that with this one basic recipe you will appear to have an unlimited repertoire of delicious cookies at your disposal

The air was noticeable cooler today and Even my little cat sat among the herbs with her fur fluffed up this after noon. I have found a species of garden ea which grows through the winter, is frost hardy and will produce a very earl crop, I could not resist trying them and weather permitting I shall plant them out tomorrow along with some broad beans. I once said that I would never grow them again as they always seem to get black fly but we like them so much and I was tempted by the strong young plants, 24 for £2.50 so I am crossing my fingers that all goes well.

In spite of all our endeavours the decorators arrived this morning to paint the outside of the house. In the past the former maintenance manager always made sure that the job was carried out when my son was not working the night shift. This clot however has deliberately told the decorators to start on our house even thought here are two more houses which could have been painted first. \the estate manager got wind of this and has attempted to ensure that the painters go elsewhere for the rest of the week, I shall believe it when it happens and not a moment sooner! Should they turn up again tomorrow they will be met with buckets of water from every window and the hosepipe from down stairs manned by Pa. One way of another I will do all I can to ensure that my son sleeps tomorrow so it could be fun!

Since the bread was fresh we all felt that the evening was cold enough for on of our favourite soups good old “London Particular” named for the fabled pea souper fogs that we used to have years ago and of course made with mushy peas, a recipe I have already published and well worth trying.

I think I shall get out one of my long nighties to sleep in tonight, I do not want to put the heat on just yet although, it costs so much these days. We all have lots of quilts rugs and fur throws which we load on to our beds as the winter sets in and actually it is rather fun to snuggle up under a soft throw with a hot water bottle of better still my cat Twiggy.

Our holiday weeks are over and I am sad for it, my son still seems tired and I think OT will take more that a week or two to undo the years of overwork he has endured ,but hey ho he is his own man and will do as he chooses, do you know, I love him all the more for that.

HONEY BEES IN THE TREES

Some years ago a swarm of honey bees swarmed in our garden, that in itself is not unusual ,it happens every year and we always call our local bee-keeper to come and collect them. What was unusual was that on this occasion the bees scouts found a suitable hole in a lime tree at the bottom of our garden, the settled in that day and have been there ever since.
Each year the bees swarm and about a half of the colony goes with a new queen to start another nest, leaving the old queen with a manageable size brood.

This morning while tidying the front garden I took a look at the hive, it was busier than ever due I think to the large amount of Michaelmas daisies in our garden. During the summer months most of the nectar collected by the workers is fed to the growing colony but at this time of year the bees are very busy providing for themselves during the winter months.

Out walled garden contains a good deal of mature ivy which flowers prolifically in September and provides Th bees with a welcome source of food at a time when there are less flowers about. Nature has provided these plants flowering in season and the bees take full advantage of this bounty.

It is then most unfortunate that there has been of late a mass removal of ivy from our walls and buildings, it is either cut hard back so that it does not flower or worse it is destroyed altogether. I know that fully nature ivy may not be everyone’s cup of tea but in places such as parks churchyards and roadsides I am sure that it could be left alone.

These days Local Authorises choose to remove ivy wholesale where ever it appears. In my area over 70% of this useful plant has been removed in the last three years. It is a lack of understanding of ecology and an ignorance of which causes the problem . My own Local Authority joined a London wide drive to promote the welfare of the endangered Stag Beetle in our area while at the same time removing any dead wood either on the trees or on the ground thus leaving these fabulous insects nowhere to breed. They are still baffled as to why the population is decreasing!

Surely it is time to employ people who understand wild life in theses positions . Our Local Authority has an Ecologist be he makes no decisions about have the maintenance of our parks and open spaces are managed. He only gets involve if people such a s myself lobby the council for changes in their routine work.

We all take bees for granted and yet they are vital for our own welfare, in the U.S.A where for many years bees have been transported all over the continent to pollinate large orchards bees are dying by the billion and no one knows why. Bees are big business because without them there is no harvest., No fruit. No vegetables, nothing.
I am sorry to be banging on about this again but unless we all take responsibility for what is going on we may not live long after the last bee has died.

I would ask everyone to observe the doings of their Local Authority and if you think that they are damaging the environment make a fuss. Write letters, send e,mail, organise awareness days in your local schools. It may take a while but believe me it does work.
If you do not feel able to rise a ruckus then plant a few Michaelmas daisies, or anything that bears a late crop of pollen. If we all do just that much it will help.
I know I keep banging on about this but it is so terribly important to all of us to do something about the problem now so please forgive me for mentioning it again.

And so in the words of Morgan Freeman “thank you ,for listening.”

AUTUMN IN THE KITCHEN GARDEN

Harvesting has been in full swing for some time and I am still busy blanching apple rings and beans to freeze for winter use. Today a dozen jam jars appeared on the doorstep and so I have to decide between making a batch of chutney or another fruit jelly. Rose hips are plentiful as are apples this year so whatever I make will contain those ingredients.

This years experiment growing sweet potatoes in the green house has been a success and next year I intend to grow at least half a dozen plants. The one planted this year has produced a good crop in spite of the neglect it has suffered during the past week or two, we eat lots of these lovely vegetables and it will be good to show off to the boys next time I cook some.

We all love leeks and this year I planted two separate beds, one planted a little later than the other to ensure a good crop right through the winter and those in the first bed are ready to pull now. These will last us until Christmas and by then the second bed will be ready to use. Kale is such a useful veg and I grow some every year, it will withstand the harshest weather and provides us with greens well in to April. Ours is now waist high and is very tender, I picked some to put in to colchannon last week and it was delicious.

This year I have planted Bright Lights Chard in the same bed, it comes in a range of amazing colours from silver white through yellow and orange and in to red and purple. It looks so beautiful that I often plant it on the flower garden where it makes a wonderful show at this time of the year among the Michaelmas Daisies. The one problem I have with these two vegetables is the fact that the must be netted or the pigeons will graze them right down to the ground in a day or two and as the kale grows quite tall this can be a real pain , still it is worth the trouble and by growing the chard in with the kale this year as then I have only to net one bed.

This afternoon I put the mesh cover on the growing tunnel and planted twenty young spring cabbage plants for use next year. I seems a shame to have the space empty during the winter and fresh greens can be so expensive especially if the winter has been a hard one. The netted tunnel will keep off the birds and the worst of the weather while allowing rain and air to get to the plants and with luck we shall have vegetables to harvest right through the winter months and well into spring.

I am often surprised that the people who use the allotment near my home do not seem to grow many winter crops, they tidy up their plot in November and then do not appear there again until the spring. My aim has always been to feed us right through the year with crops in season and by storing , freezing and preserving the summer harvested vegetables.

We still have a fine selection of Autumn salads such as red and white mustard leaves and red sorrel, I shall plant a bed of corn salad (lambs lettuce) in a sheltered spot this week and it all goes well it will be ready in time for Christmas to be eaten with the cold Turkey.

Our Parsley is still going strong as is the mint and the tarragon and some of each of these are now drying in the kitchen along with marjoram and fennel. My bay leaf jar is full again and should last until next year. Bay is one of the few herbs which I prefer to use dried, Tarragon too is dries well, the others I am not so fond off but they still have their uses in the kitchen during the winter months. The correct mix of basil, marjoram, rosemary and thyme make a perfect Italian herb seasoning and as I make lots fa pasta dishes and pizzas I use rather a lot of this mix.
Dressings too can be flavoured with dried herbs and it is so much less expensive to make your own than it is to buy and so easy as long as you remember to add the oil after the other ingredients.
At this time every year I wonder if I shall be fit enough to manage the garden again next year, I admit that it does get a little harder every year as my arthritis worsens . This year as I plant for next spring I wonder if my Lovely garden will still exist next year.
A
We have as yet heard nothing from the planning department although we know that quite a number of people have raised objections top the proposed building.

Today I planted my spring cabbages and sowed marigold seed as an act of faith, I always said that if ever the day came when I could not longer work in the garden I should sow it with meadow flowers for the bees and insects to enjoy, I cannot imagine living without having our lovely garden to sit in and watch my tame Robin and all the other birds raise their young each year, and the very idea of watching the bulldozers dig up the fox earth is harrowing. I know that at the moment it is not the fashion to care about foxes but this pair have raised cubs in my garden for years and are so tame now that they come to me when I call them.

The old song “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot” seems appropriate now but oh how I pray that it will not happen.

ROCK CAKES ROCK

I often hear busy mums complain that they do not have time to bake, so if they want a treat for the family they buy a cake of biscuits. I can quite understand their predicament, many mums have to work these days and it is hard to find the time to more than the bare essentials of house work which does not include baking. Having worked full time myself in the past and having a family who refuse to eat convenience food I evolved a good many recopies that are quick, simple and very tasty. Today’s recipe has the advantage of being one which children will find easy to do and we all know how much children love to bake with mum or dad.

AVIES VARIATIONS ON A ROCK CAKE
For the basic mixture.
8 oz self raising flour
4 oz granulated sugar
4 oz butter or hard margarine
pinch of salt
I egg
a little milk to mix
4oz sultanas or raisins
Place the flour and butter into a bowl and rub in until the mix resembles breadcrumbs then add the sultanas. Add the beaten egg and enough milk to make to a stiff consistency then heap tablespoons full on to a greased baking sheet they should have a craggy appearance but it you have made the mixture too soft fear not, the cakes will be a little flatter but they will still taste good.
Bake in a pre heated oven at 425oC for10-15 minutes.
This amount makes between 12 -15 rock cakes

This recipe lends itself to variations so if you like leave out the fruit and add any of the following
4 oz chopped glacé cherries
2oz desiccated coconut
a hand full of marigold petals
4 oz chopped dates
The grated rind on a lemon
A teaspoon full of ground ginger
A combination of cherries and coconut is lovely.

You can even leave out he sugar and add 3 oz Cheshire cheese and a little pepper to make a savoury snack, a shake of paprika adds a colourful touch.
These are a real treat when eaten warm and can also be split and buttered.
I am sure that you can think of lots more things to add to the mixture to make these rock cakes your own.

If you have and fresh apples of plums cook them for about five minutes, place in greased dish and heaps spoons full of the plain mixture on the top to form a cobbler , bake for 15-20 minutes at 400oC and serve with cream ,iced cream or custard.

Today I harvested our Pink Fir Apple potato crop and I am more than happy with this years crop, the recent wet spell has encouraged the pumpkins to grow and every day now I bring in one or two/ Tonight we are having a salad with cold pork pie , cheeses and cooked meats with some of the new potatoes , straight out of the ground and on to the plate, wonderful.

FOOL PROOF PAVLOVA AND HOME MADE HERB VIEGARS

Pavlova is a favourite with us , I find it so very easy to make and yet people often tell me that their attempts are never a success, so here is a recipe with always works for me, try it and see.

First of all make certain that the bowl, the whisk and any other implements are clean and grease free, egg whites will not whip up where grease is present. Cut a ten inch circle of non stick greased proof paper and place on a baking sheet.
You will need
3 egg whites
6 oz caster sugar
half a teaspoon of vinegar
half a teaspoon of cornflour
half a teaspoon of vanilla essence

Put egg whites in to a clean bowl and beat until it forms soft peaks, using an electric hand whisk makes this a very fast process. Now begin to add the sugar a very little at a time beating all the while. Adding too much sugar at once is the most common cause of sloppy merangue mixture.
When the egg whites and sugar are stiff and glossy add the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla essence ans fold in carefully.

Put a dab of the mixture on the back of the greased proof paper to stop it sliding abput and the carefulle place spoonfulls of the mixture on the sheet, these should be dessert spoon size and should form a hollow circle. Fill in the centre whith the rest of the mixture and using a fork flick up the inner edge of the outer ring,
Bake at 310oC for one hour and fifteen minutes and the switch off the oven , leaving the Pavclova inside to cool . When cold remove carefully from the baking sheet, place on a large flat plate .The Pavlova should be crisp on the out side and have the texture of marsmallow in the middle, many a perfect Pavlova has gone in to the bin because the cook believed that it should be crisp all the way through like those dreadfull shop bought merangue case. Fill the centre with cream and decorate with you favourite fruit.

Freshly toasted hazel nuts can be added to the mixture with the vinegar etc, and the crean filling can be topped with white and dark chocolate shavings and choclate or rasbperry sauce.
I hope this works for you good luck.

I picked lots of herbs today somw of which I shall dire and some I shall use to make herb vinegar.
Herb Vinegar
10t malt vinegar
half an ounce of chopped shallot
Rind and juice of half a lemon
2 cloves
A sprig each of Thyme,Basil,Savory,Marjoram,Tarragon and 1 bay leaf.
Simmer all the ingredients for twenty minutes, Cool and then strain the vinegar. Bottle when cold. Use with plain vinegar and olive oil to make salad dressing.
If you do not have all these herbs just use what you do have and if you like things hot add 2oz of grated Horseradish at the boiling stage.

PANCAKES, PANCAKES AND MORE PANCAKES

Pa had a hospital appointment this morning for the final fitting of his calliper and we decided on pancakes for breakfast as they are quick to do. With breakfast over we saw Pa off on the buggy and I began to wash the dishes. No sooner had I finished than there was a knock on the door, it was a good friend and as I was making toad in the hole for dinner tonight I decided that it would do no harm to make him some pancakes and save the extra batter for later.

The mix was made, the tea was ready and the first pancake served when another friend we have not seen for some time arrived and joined the party, I had by now been cooking pancakes for and hour. It was fun to sit and gossip as they finished their meal of five pancakes each and I made another pot of tea to drink as we talked.

One O clock came and Pa returned from hospital without his calliper, every time he goes there is some new excuse for the delay. One of the guests had to leave and as we showed him out someone else arrived, a friend of the second visitor who plumped himself down on a chair and beamed around at us. Now I was to have gone out as soon as Pa returned from hospital and before going I should have washed my hair and changed my clothes neither of which I had time to do. Add to this the fact that none of us likes this last visitor much, it is odd but non of us are quite sure why. Even more strange is the fact that every one we know who also knows him says exactly the same, they do not like him but can not say why. Knowing that Pa would not appreciate being left with him I told them that I had to go out ,which was true, and that Pa must have a nap, which was not! I hate deceit in any form but needs must when the devil drives!

Thankfully they kleft without demure and I arranged to meet my friend again next week. When they had gone I quickly washed my hair and headed out to the shops for a few vital needs. The trip did not take long but long enough to mean that I had no time to strim the orchard pathways, I change into my old togs again and went in to the garden to cup some pumpkins, marrows, squashes and courgettes and a big bunch of sweet peas for Pa , When these were cleaned and stored away I began to prepare dinner wondering where the day had gone. Even so it is always good to see old friends and I did enjoy myself very much.

Now to bring you up to date on my sons book – sales seem to be going well at the moment, but the only hard data is this – of all the books on 'Astronautics' on Amazon, it is currently ranked ninth! Not just ebooks, either – of ALL the books! He's outselling Buzz Aldrin and Richard Branson! We are all pleased at how well it is doing, pleased but not surprised it is as I said yesterday a brilliant book and a darned good read.

Would it be wrong of me to wish that we could always be this happy, I suppose it would and yet …...........................

A PROUD DAY FOR ME

Today my son is a published author, his first book is now available at the following places:

Amazon US (Kindle)

http://www.amazon.com/One-False-Step-ebook/dp/B005MEG080/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1315901551&sr=8-3

Amazon UK (Kindle)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/One-False-Step-ebook/dp/B005MEG080/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1315901239&sr=1-2

Barnes & Noble (Nook)

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-false-step-richard-tongue/1105584353?ean=2940012988492&itm=2&usri=one%2bfalse%2bstep

iStore

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/one-false-step.../id464586809?mt=11
..
We were all very excited at breakfast and we talked of little else for most of the meal. Having read the book already I can honestly say that it is very well written and it speaks from the heart on a subject about which he is passionate. I fear that he takes after his mother in that he fights for his cause in any way possible. I believe that this is his way of reminding people who may have forgotten and telling those who may be too young to remember just what wonderful opportunities have been missed for so many foolish reasons. It is a book about what should have been rather than what might have been. It costs only £2.29 so it is worth giving it a glance, that is enough advertising for today, I will let you know how things go.

The estate workers came today supposedly to trim the creeper at the back of the house, they did not trim it they ripped it out entirely and we were unable to stop them. My neighbour remonstrated with them, begged , pleaded and in the end lost his temper and swore at them most colourfully but all to no avail. This has been done as a reprisal because I had the nerve to insist that my oven was either fixed or replaced. My neighbour is incensed that he has now been involved in this matter and has complained to the estate manager , I wish him luck.

I console myself that the creeper will grow again very quickly and the extra evidence that this incident provides to show just how badly we have been treated by the estate all helps the cause in the long run. I am only surprised that they have not the wit to see this for themselves.

None of these things have been allowed to spoil our day, we ate a celebration breakfast of blueberry and wine berry muffins and for dinner a gammon joint boiled , then roasted with whole onions carrots and parsnips and served with a cider and mustard sauce. This dish is an autumn favourite with us and is quite suitable fr a special occasion. The left over gammon will make sandwiches for supper tomorrow and the remaining stock will, with some dried peas and bacon make our favourite “London Particular” soup on Monday. Having spent less than £5.00 on the gammon I feel that we have certainly had value for money which in time like these is so important. I believe these recipes were published on an earlier blog but if would like them and do not fancy trawling through the back numbers please let me know and I shall print them again
Twiggy has caught two more young rats today and is mightily pleased with herself , the trophies are on display on the front step for [people to admire. Unfortunately most people just scream and run:Note to self this may be a good thing to do on a day when I am too busy to entertain!
It makes me glad to see my son happy again and interested in his own plans, he has been so miserable of late and when I consider the things that have happened to him in the past couple of years and particularly in the past few months I am not surprised.
I have no time for people who trade upon the good will of better men than themselves to further their own ends, such people are pathetic but unfortunately common

FREEDOMOF INFORMATION ?

When my son returned from his holiday on Sark, one of the smallest Channel Islands he brought back a couple of books about the German Occupation of those Islands during the Second World War. I read these works with a good deal of interest, particularly the one which concerned itself with the underground newspaper published at great risk to themselves by the islanders.
As usual in an occupied country accurate news was suppressed by the Nazis, radio's were forbidden and the only news that was permitted was the German propaganda which was meant to confuse and demoralise the oppressed population
In spite of this a few brave souls published regularly the Guernsey Underground Newspaper Service or G.U.N.S for short, in which the truth about the progress of the war was published without favour if in fear.

The people who undertook this perilous venture kept alive the true spirit of the people of the island and encouraged the victory campaign which caused the occupying force many headaches by the organisation of disruptive activities and the painting of the V for Victory sign in some very inopportune places. Although this may seem a small thing it did wonders for the moral of a people who felt themselves powerless in the grip of those who could not possibly have their best interests at heart.
Some of those who contributed to and published the paper were captured and sent to concentration camps,this cost some of them their lives but still others came along to pick up where they left off.

These men fought for free speech as have many others in many countries and we should fight to the end to maintain the unassailable right for people to be told the truth. Even today there are those who do not wish you to know what is really going on and they will go to any length to prevent the truth from being told. Why? Because it is not in their interests that YOU should know the truth.

The people who publish these unwelcome facts often run the same risks today as those men of Guernsey did all those years ago. Any one who seeks to suppress the truth for their own protection or profit as a means of keeping people from acting upon the true facts is no better than the Nazis on Guernsey and believe me people like theses are still out there. There are those who will tell you that the truth is often withheld to protect the public,to prevent panic,etc. Oh please, do they think that we are all idiots because to believe that clap trap you would have to be. Not all issues are of world importance but the truth I the truth and that is the bottom line, no one has the right to cause it to be withheld for any reason.


It cannot be denied that members of the press have overstepped the mark many times but do not let this be used as an excuse to bridle honest reporting of the facts. If unpalatable facts were not broadcast how would we know about violation of human rights. How should we have discovered the scandal of M. Ps abuse of expenses and many other matters of import.
Telling the truth may well have cost Dr Kelly his life when he insisted that the Iraqi's did not have any W.M.D.'s. The suppression of the facts and the refusal to hold an inquest has only fanned the flames of suspicion it seems to me.

Piers Morgan and Greg Dyke lost there jobs for reporting what we now know to be the truth about the Iraq war. Even so they have received no apology from those politician's who insisted upon their dismissal because they found the truth embarrassing.

It is up to every one of us to fight this type of coercion, it is up to all of us to defend our right and the right of every man to know the truth about what is happening around him.
Every one of us should become a partisan in this cause , these rights were hard won by better men that us in tougher times than ours. If we fail to defend what they gave us we are in danger of returning to those time again.

The right to the truth either great or small is far to precious and hard won a right to be given up without a fight. Neither threats nor bribes should deter us all from seeking out and publishing “The Truth”.

Now I expect that you are wondering what to what truth I am referring , the answer is all truth, any truth, any information that people need in order for them to make informed judgements on important matters weather personal, or political . No one has the right to deny you this and yet it happens all the time.
If we adhere to nothing but the truth we are untouchable,in law, but are we untouchable in fact? I think not. So remember if you do not uphold this right you will surely lose it. I fight on as best I can! How about you!

LAZY SUNDAY

SUNDAY AT HOME

Today was the kind of Sunday I dream about but seldom have and I suppose that the rarity is partly what makes these lovely days so very special to me. We all had a good long lie in, no postmen no parcels and no callers, add to that two cups of steaming hot coffee delivered to my bed side and the knowledge that there would be no one descending upon us half way through breakfast as happens as a rule on my sons Sunday off. Bliss.

Our late breakfast was piklets with a choice of honey or maple syrup with fresh cream and a pot of tea, well we are still officially on holiday. Then the day was ours to spend as we chose and we decided first to make sure everything was battened down in case the forecast gales reached further south than was foretold, lets face it folks the weather department does have previous in this area! Pa filled all the bird feeders and added a few more and I checked the green house, the cloches and the buggy hutch to make sure that they could not be blown away.

Satisfied that all was well we decided to have a game of quoits while the weather was still fine. This game is great for us to play as Pa is able not just to join in, but to have as good a chance as any one to win, which he did the last time we played. We played on the gravel path at the front of the house and this did not suit Twiggy in the least as prior to our game she had been mousing in the flower borders with much success. For the past week or so the front and back step have been littered with corpses around the clock. Mostly small rats and the occasional large mouse and constant vigilance is necessary to prevent her from bringing her trophies indoors. On one memorable occasion she released a live baby rat under the kitchen table while we were eating breakfast, our breakfast guest was not amused and the ensuing chaos coupled with loud screams caused our neighbours to appear at the door to ask if all was well........it wasn't! Oh yes, we played two games of ten rounds each....I won both.

During his holiday my son developed a craving for a pie and ordered this delicacy at several restaurants only to be disappointed with what he was served, so for dinner tonight I made chicken and bacon pot pies, his favourite. I sneaked some dried mushrooms into mine and Pa's and served them with baked sweet potato and salad. This did the trick and I felt quite flattered that my pies was preferred to the offerings produced by the chef's in Marlborough.

The sun was still shining late in the afternoon and we began to hope that the storm would miss us entirely, we are still hoping, so far a sharp shower of rain has been it.Some year ago , before Pa developed epilepsy we would drive in to the countryside at the weekend, sometimes we would walk the Ridge way, sometimes visit a castle and although I miss that now and then I still love days like today the most. Having the time just to enjoy each others company without the daily distraction fa work, chores and visitors is for us all a rare pleasure and today we made the most of our chance and we all agree that we feel much more relaxed than usual after our lazy family day at home.

HOME AGAIN

Today began with a panic, out little cat Twiggy had stayed out all night, an unusual occurrence and this morning was no where to be seen,this has never happened before. On the odd occasion when a fine summer evening and an abundance of small game has tempted Her Ladyship she is always to be found on the doorstep next morning demanding food and attention in equal measure. Pa had been worrying all night and chose not to tell me. Bless him as he knew how upset I would be, I discovered the truth when I took him his morning coffee and then the worrying began.

Fortunately it did not last very long as about an hour later madam appeared in the kitchen with a casual air and went upstairs to sleep of her night on the tiles! Great was the relief at this welcome turn of events and Pa and I sat down to a breakfast of grilled kippers with bread and butter and a pot of tea in high spirits. Our little cat was home safe and soon our son would be home too, it was a jolly meal indeed.

Since the weather forecast for the next few days is abysmal Pa filled extra feeders for the birds just in case it was difficult for us to get out to refill the feeders. While he attended to that I began the preparations for a welcome home feast, of roast Guinea fowl, roasted potatoes, baked courgettes runner beans and stuffing served with apple sauce and thyme gravy. The garden is producing some lovely fresh vegetables at the moment and we are making the most of them at every opportunity.

After many delays due to the vagaries of Cross Rail my son arrived home at two forty five, he looked so good in his rugged outdoor clothes , to say that I was glad to see him just does not say enough, we all hugged and hugged.

Safe and sound in his newly furbished room the traveller caught up with his e mails which took quite a while. Dinner just needed to be cooked and the bird went in to the oven on good time for an early meal followed by an early night. We talked over our various doings during the week and listened to the travellers tales with interest, then tired but relaxed he took a bath and went off to bed .
The house is full of life again and all is well those we love are safe and sound and we still have a whole week of the holiday left to enjoy. I am sure that there can be nothing better in life than to have such joy in a son as we have in ours, he makes me proud every day of his life and his maturity and strength,combined with gentleness and generosity are what make him a rare and special person. There speaks the fond Mama of course but those who truly know him feel as I do and he has many friends many of which he has kept since early childhood.

I shall now cease to bore you with this parental praise fest and take a bath myself, The cat is safely curled up on my bed, my son is resting in his room Pa is happily reading his railway magazine, I really need no more that this for perfect happiness and I wish with all my heart the same happiness for you. Goodnight.

ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY

The kitchen was like a production line today with the preparations for my sons return tomorrow. Was up early and made two wholemeal loaves , while they were baking Pa and I had our breakfast of pancakes and lemon and then it was back to more baking. After whipping up a large bowl of oatcake batter I made two Russian cracked wheat and honey loaves, these are a real treat toasted , the bread is sweet of course as each loaf contains two tablespoons of honey and the texture is amazing.

By the time the cracked wheat bread was set to rise the oatcake batter was ready and so turned my attention back to the griddle and about an hour and a half later five dozen oatcakes stood cooling on the kitchen table and the house smelled wonderful. The wheat loaves which take longer to cook than ordinary bread were ready about half an hour later and I surveyed the kitchen with satisfaction. There were enough oatcakes for dinner tonight and plenty more for a breakfast with grilled cheese and another main meal of bacon eggs and mushrooms next week.

By the time I had tidied the kitchen, and what a job that was I was very hot and rather tired , fresh air was needed and so settling Pa down with a new railway magazine I set off for a run.
I had not decided were to go, just to be out was enough but soon I reached the canal and I could not resist a ride along the tow path. Last year I went for about half a mile along the canal side and had intended to explore this year, time got away from me and until today I have been no further.

The air was warm and the sense of going somewhere that I had never been before was tempting so I set off at my top speed of eight miles per hour to see how far I could get. Everywhere the scent of ivy flowers filled the air and the call of coots warning their offspring , now well grown not to wander to far it was pleasant to hear after the traffic noise of the roads. Locks and bridges of all types and sizes from small lading bridges to huge motorway flyovers crossed the canal and yet hardly any of the surrounding buildings could be seen/.On this stretch of the Grand Union beautiful trees and flowers caught my eye and around every bend there seemed to be something new and exciting to wonder at.

After a few miles I crossed a lading bridge and continued on the other side of the canal. The steepness of this bridge surprised me and Realising that I had set out without a fully charged battery I decided that I had better not go much further if I was to be sure of having enough power to manage the bridges steep incline on the return journey.

Dark and green and overhung with trees the canal stretched invitingly ahead and it it was not without a pang of regret that I turned towards home with my head full of plans for returning one day very soon, this time with full power. Having lost all track of time I was astonished to find that it was after four by the time I arrived back home and after changing I headed to the kitchen again for the final onslaught of the day.

Eggs, bacon, cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms with six of the new batch of oatcakes each made our meal tonight and and iced cream to finish, just the sort of meal Pa and I used to eat years ago after a day spent splitting logs or digging the garden. Once again I washed up and tidied the kitchen and this time I was very weary, it had been a long day. Twiggy, bounced indoors with a newly caught mouse and was promptly bounced out again before she had the chance to let it disappear behind the washing machine. Her howls of protest at our lack of gratitude for her addition the the family larder were loud and long.

Longing for my bed ad a hot bath I bagged the bathroom first and now in a few moments I shall make a hot drink for Pa and I before settling down for the evening to watch a film.
Going somewhere new was wonderful and the memory of kingfishers coots, moor-hens and mallards will stay with me for a long time,
I am praying now for a fine Autumn so that with luck I can return to the canal and this time go much much further, it is a wonderful thought to sleep on and I feel that my world is suddenly not quote so small now.

SAINSBURY'S VERSUS SALISBURY.......NO CONTEST!

My son called today to tell me that he was in Salisbury wandering around the old town and viewing the cathedral and I confess to more than a twinge of envy when I compared this to my own outing to the supermarket. However I decided that as I am on holiday too I should have a little treat and so I purchased a few small items, mere fripperies really but it cheered me up a little . One of my purchases was a dream catcher, a rather lovely one with l;lots of feathers. Some years ago I made one and it has hung over my bed ever since until a few days ago when for not reason it decided to unravel. Unfortunately the onset of arthritis in my fingers prevents me from making these lovely things and so I was glad to see them of sale in the shop where I always by my sons welcome home balloon.

I also treated myself to some new watercolour brushes as my old ones seem to have been used by Pa for painting his model railway scenery and are useless as a consequence of such treatment. A pair of snug pyjamas and a new brown tunic( my old one had a bleach burn on the front) completed my personal shopping .

The day has been quiet and that makes a nice change for me as my hose is usually full of hungry people, tomorrow however someone is coming to take a look at the over vigorous creeper which is engulfing the windows at the rear of the cottage. I would prefer not to loose it altogether but it must be faced that as it can grow through closed windows something will have to be done before we wake up one morning and find ourselves tied to our beds by the blessed thing. I have no idea what it is and I did not plant it, it appeared as a small cluster of leaves about four years ago and is now growing up the chimney stack. My real regret at losing this plant is that the bees adore it and I hate to do anything to their detriment. We have decided to plant lots more pollen rich flowers next year to redress the balance.

Pa and I had a takeaway of fish and chips tonight, I love fish and chips and since a new and excellent fish shop opened nearby we have had them about once a month. Prior to this we never ate them as their was not a decant shop nearby...... my great grandfather kept a fish and chip shop so I am rather fussy you see. Most chip shops these days do other things as well and fry them in the same fat and so the flavour is impaired. Others us frozen fish which has not defrosted properly and them the batter in soggy . Worse than all are the shop which do not change the fat in which they fry often enough, I can tell by the smell as I walk past the shop if this is the case,,,yuk! I told you I was fussy!

Twiggy spent al of last night asleep on the fur rug in my sons bedroom and apart from the odd break for a meal or a quick visit to the garden she has spent most of the day there,poor little cat, she hates it when any of her people are away form home.

While I was out I picked up some enormous conkers which I intend to string and see if I can persuade someone to have a game with me. This years crop are the best I have ever seen and it makes me wish I was a child again, conkers that size were worth a couple of Gob stoppers or a tube of bubblegum when I was at primary school . These day children are not allowed to play with them at school in case of accidents and it seems such a shame that such a source of innocent amusement should be denied to our youngsters and I am certain that the game came be no more dangerous than wandering around glued to a game boy and which loud music blasting your eardrums . Don’t' mind me, I sound more like my mother every day!

NO SIGN OF NARNIA

Great was my relief this morning when Pa left for a few hours at hospital as it meant that I could devote my energies to some serious cookery and sot out my sons room ready for his return. Before Pa left I cooked us at last the promised breakfast of eggs Florentine, this is a great favourite with Pa and I but as it takes a lot of fiddling about I only make it about once every two or three weeks.
Dressed and well fed off we went, he to the hospital ,I to the garden to pick beams and to bring in a marrow. Lurking amongst the large spiny leaves were a couple of monsters and I cut them both and lugged them back to the kitchen to be dealt with later. Hollandaise sauce uses only the yolk of egg so with four egg whites sitting in a bowl it seemed a good idea to make a Pavlova for pudding tonight served perhaps with some of the boozy blueberries and chopped toasted hazel nuts, or perhaps some fresh plums.

Dinner tonight needed some preparation and I set a pint of link to infuse with two bay leaves, sixteen peppercorns and a crushed clove of garlic then went on the dice onions to cook with the minced steak,this with the addition of a few herbs and a squeeze of tomato purred would be thickened later to make a rich meat sauce.

Ever since reading The Chronicles of Narnia at the age of seven I have lived in hope of one day finding Lucy's wardrobe. With the cleaning done I emptied the washing machine and then on to the exploration of my sons wardrobe, not a task for the faint of heart! The wardrobe is built into the wall of the house underneath the eaves and is a strange enough space to be sure. From the outside it likes exactly like another room and this has in the past lead to some confusion when visitors, new to the house go in search of the lavatory. My room has another of these strange small rooms, mine is bigger and actually has a window , as a child I would have had the jim-jams every night wondering what might come out of it. I still do now I come to mention it and it does house some very,very large black spiders!

Spiders also infest my sons wardrobe where its roof slopes up into the eaves and the fear of one of these monsters dropping down the back of my neck was enough to make my hunt for the lamp post a short one. The one strange thing I did discover was the initials A,S, carved into the door frame............I wonder?

With his wardrobe and his bedroom beaten into submission I took a stroll in the vegetable garden to cool off and while I was there picked a bucketful of runner beans of which I seem to have an embarrassment this year, I have begun to notice that the neighbours always seem to be out when I approach with beans or courgettes, spinach and sorrel however are still welcome.
Twiggy was wild to be out in the garden today and celebrated her freedom by catching a small rat which she left on the front door step, this is progress as she usually brings her trophies still squeaking in to the house, I once found one of her victims hiding in my bed, I was not amused!

The weather held dry for my son today and he visited all his old haunts, this sort of weather is best for these visits as on sunny days the place is infested with later day hippies and wannabe witches, they don't really have a clue what it's all about and in an case a true witch is born, not made! These ancient stones were places of pilgrimage long before Chaucer wrote his Canterbury Tales, in fact long before Christianity reached these shores along with those pesky Romans!

All the chores were done at last and Pa and I enjoyed our meal of poached marrow rings filled with a rich meat sauce and topped with bechamel sauce and a sprinkling of cheese, followed by Pavlova, one thing is certain we shall want not super tonight.