tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83738383691130864662024-02-19T08:16:44.884+00:00yumptatiousyumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-28287170609374698502011-03-17T19:37:00.001+00:002011-03-17T19:38:47.979+00:00Time to get freshAs much as I may love staying in, I finally embraced the importance of getting out into the great outdoors. Feeling a gentle breeze on my face, breathing in the invigorating fresh air, striding out as far as my stumpers will allow, helps blow away the mind cobwebs that choke my lil brain.<br />
I'm lucky enough to live in a town that's surrounded by glorious Kentish countryside (not that the nearby Sussex countryside is too shabby either.) and really don't get out into it enough, though I'm trying to redress the balance. And now is a fab time to go because spring is on the verge...<br />
<br />
Donning my 15 year old Docs and an outfit that potentially would trigger vivid memories for a Crimewatch reconstruction (please tell me that I'm not the only one who considers these things.... O_O), off I went.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhny_Sq5njlw1LpeHevD8D4Wu_fDAGUZ3mV_AVUD5Mt-Qf4I6CRlQh3zgBwHjwajj_PltoSgJKSFFGBKPXtWiXqrizTMURSBkEQfuKz-jqrwffew_N-dPPsfFi-IdY4nHKht9QSRljkJQ8/s1600/stars+on+the+ground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhny_Sq5njlw1LpeHevD8D4Wu_fDAGUZ3mV_AVUD5Mt-Qf4I6CRlQh3zgBwHjwajj_PltoSgJKSFFGBKPXtWiXqrizTMURSBkEQfuKz-jqrwffew_N-dPPsfFi-IdY4nHKht9QSRljkJQ8/s400/stars+on+the+ground.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I liked the green 'flowers' in the grass (though not enough to tiptoe daintily through them, thus avoiding their imminent squishage. Seriously, you try tiptoeing daintily in Docs - it can't be done.)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIsROFIVgkrmpuilrpevjNFA1d1lYdKMS3VOFlQXXnJ3B7-vlbVTi65OurdRoKpMxrXtFy8xNJkld9CrPRgKpAIFZgDE6yuuei7xJLXc-dQKpkRyi_Y6mUOJ98gYW2NXUC25ny57wVurg/s1600/refusing+to+die.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIsROFIVgkrmpuilrpevjNFA1d1lYdKMS3VOFlQXXnJ3B7-vlbVTi65OurdRoKpMxrXtFy8xNJkld9CrPRgKpAIFZgDE6yuuei7xJLXc-dQKpkRyi_Y6mUOJ98gYW2NXUC25ny57wVurg/s400/refusing+to+die.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I love how this fallen, ivy-choked tree just refuses to die. I'll take another pic when it's in full leaf.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFKILeOR0-rcIu_sUvJC5z8R3wV7QVfDTdiZTkoUkW8kXKFBVmYhJUM2VFtgp3fFmycN2gxjBXN0JQrGtxzH7x3aOD_J2giaHCMrZwNjN81aedcgkRG5wi1KnOsHnlrgMwHNpHE01IWk/s1600/sweet+morning+fog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFKILeOR0-rcIu_sUvJC5z8R3wV7QVfDTdiZTkoUkW8kXKFBVmYhJUM2VFtgp3fFmycN2gxjBXN0JQrGtxzH7x3aOD_J2giaHCMrZwNjN81aedcgkRG5wi1KnOsHnlrgMwHNpHE01IWk/s400/sweet+morning+fog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">To fully appreciate this view, you should be playing <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUcvSVdZBRI">this</a> on your internal jukebox (or iPod if you want to be boring and unimaginative) </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsGgvg5QgPQESx1q6_UbktOtORWvVtR15IwkL7Xej7taj7IDPNpoM1y2h6OssV_nWjIKazciP6XTEuta26ukrDeKJNJDJiT3-wSJ6uTPaBOXijzYyuYfD7gX94eGuHvXDWqujU8xoFLA/s1600/I%2527ll+be+your+wingman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsGgvg5QgPQESx1q6_UbktOtORWvVtR15IwkL7Xej7taj7IDPNpoM1y2h6OssV_nWjIKazciP6XTEuta26ukrDeKJNJDJiT3-wSJ6uTPaBOXijzYyuYfD7gX94eGuHvXDWqujU8xoFLA/s400/I%2527ll+be+your+wingman.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I love how the other geese are looking up at those two: "Bloody Dave and Keith - they've never been the same since watching 'Top Gun'"</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjUST1W6ZN6n4Ffj9p4PdM5o3IIcjGhk2fwhbnHYRFxIdKfx0HkHML2NI3iuPYB8pewCjE9kxFGoCPHKJC2L07XXCPKuBS2ZSmuJ4GPcoSCX_9wVGl0_qjlPgBcwdrAESHvhNwGolncw/s1600/bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjUST1W6ZN6n4Ffj9p4PdM5o3IIcjGhk2fwhbnHYRFxIdKfx0HkHML2NI3iuPYB8pewCjE9kxFGoCPHKJC2L07XXCPKuBS2ZSmuJ4GPcoSCX_9wVGl0_qjlPgBcwdrAESHvhNwGolncw/s400/bridge.jpg" width="292" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A beckoning bridge, wearing this season's moss adornment. It's so now...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4s8jedFck4mEyJ-4_6tFR0iimdtGqTU9LASyz-hzF_1zgYx8XoPKhcJOJdMQ5Ufm_WiYv1Emp0eosuJ9R5-wGOQHDHQE1ghMcrIqC8PLmgbn2oTTL1QTlKOfkyryBs5RB05-IZHN-eXI/s1600/moss+n+ivy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4s8jedFck4mEyJ-4_6tFR0iimdtGqTU9LASyz-hzF_1zgYx8XoPKhcJOJdMQ5Ufm_WiYv1Emp0eosuJ9R5-wGOQHDHQE1ghMcrIqC8PLmgbn2oTTL1QTlKOfkyryBs5RB05-IZHN-eXI/s640/moss+n+ivy.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">...and comes in mustard too.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeMcz_hwre9Z9Q_rziXzFQzBKSht4nMmVhs5JwS6TRDX5KiWYdDmXmTMw37q2XOVBaJr_U_hwatLlyVCS058jH6jfudzAS0YdyGGcTv1Iaaktb12R30TS5QUaqPXOUAzdY81L4C8xuRk/s1600/nature%2527s+fairy+lights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJeMcz_hwre9Z9Q_rziXzFQzBKSht4nMmVhs5JwS6TRDX5KiWYdDmXmTMw37q2XOVBaJr_U_hwatLlyVCS058jH6jfudzAS0YdyGGcTv1Iaaktb12R30TS5QUaqPXOUAzdY81L4C8xuRk/s400/nature%2527s+fairy+lights.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I thought these buds were like nature's own fairy lights (and no, I wasn't smoking anything...)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSA7Ua4xQEvP0EttKNjIA9Zv3xbDYEnba3y-tDFK2b6MlGQ2RNj96XjxIYDxVJB3fGuKdf0Al5l-9ZxgdZnXsbecK2wa1ed9q2vDBCRQIkHStSrJCFZaew9Y6-Ff5DcI1GNxMQSMwikjA/s1600/budding+flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSA7Ua4xQEvP0EttKNjIA9Zv3xbDYEnba3y-tDFK2b6MlGQ2RNj96XjxIYDxVJB3fGuKdf0Al5l-9ZxgdZnXsbecK2wa1ed9q2vDBCRQIkHStSrJCFZaew9Y6-Ff5DcI1GNxMQSMwikjA/s320/budding+flowers.jpg" width="293" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">New buds emerging from aged, <strike>knackered</strike> wise old branches, like the first chin hair on a post-menopausal woman</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnuta6o9_UHtVJAAmhop-EuQF1gUtDpOtLMDNSIim06p8ZpviFJRvWtRrkVgKENhqReIpg3c2HJ5FiITkydyFSWRz3cQ7hvD6gtDx9QwHWzAE33Hol_reVLhgf4HO4fpNY5GUQA0b6UlA/s1600/blossoming+barbed+wire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnuta6o9_UHtVJAAmhop-EuQF1gUtDpOtLMDNSIim06p8ZpviFJRvWtRrkVgKENhqReIpg3c2HJ5FiITkydyFSWRz3cQ7hvD6gtDx9QwHWzAE33Hol_reVLhgf4HO4fpNY5GUQA0b6UlA/s400/blossoming+barbed+wire.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Blossoming barbed wire. Feel free to make your own trite metaphorical observations etc</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4M9gEU1SyQry24tRsqZPsh0ufL3xSHF0lfQD74mTPLlREWWXmy4V56vC_np_lVLZGb0EcZhFwjjRm813E_5SIrqw6IZBKu1wny0t20Vxgut9JVOa-YCLnNpscTJsnguCl7ThQvmMi38/s1600/ferluffy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4M9gEU1SyQry24tRsqZPsh0ufL3xSHF0lfQD74mTPLlREWWXmy4V56vC_np_lVLZGb0EcZhFwjjRm813E_5SIrqw6IZBKu1wny0t20Vxgut9JVOa-YCLnNpscTJsnguCl7ThQvmMi38/s400/ferluffy.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Fer-luffy catkins</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_Ui0p6jPkmWcbOVr9GE6XNqxHaECyjovb2-6gukyKY888-7wo2zU-NHvBP8dKFcFUDyrdAWv6lnOR1ECMyovt3LOQGYeCnUsnJzsKfPFray5jyVkvS7ZZj3Z3mDLycxvyCZxUyjLZa8/s1600/firework.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_Ui0p6jPkmWcbOVr9GE6XNqxHaECyjovb2-6gukyKY888-7wo2zU-NHvBP8dKFcFUDyrdAWv6lnOR1ECMyovt3LOQGYeCnUsnJzsKfPFray5jyVkvS7ZZj3Z3mDLycxvyCZxUyjLZa8/s400/firework.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">...and catkins masquerading as either pom-poms or fireworks</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I stomped for a good hour, possibly more, going down paths I'd never even noticed before let alone walked along. I love finding new things in places you feel you already know, seeing things from a different perspective and feeling just a little lost. On my travels I also saw a bumble bee big enough to put a saddle on, two magpies (joy!) and heard, but did not see, a woodpecker, presumably sending out the latest news to the woodland via morse code, or spreading delicious gossip to a nosy mob. At the end of all this, I yearned for strong fresh coffee and pancakes.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This recipe comes from Sophie Dahl's wonderful '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Miss-Dahls-Voluptuous-Delights-Sophie/dp/0007261179/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300390569&sr=8-1">Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights</a>' of which I have made mention before. It manages to straddle the twin channels of food memoir and recipe book but is warm and wise rather than condescending and pushy. A delightful book to dip into when you're feeling a bit ugly and hopeless. Oh and hungry, of course.</div><div style="text-align: left;">These pancakes are a little different as they use spelt flour and ricotta cheese, resulting in a satisfying yet light texture. I ate them plain, but Miss D recommends drizzling with agave or maple syrup and serving with raspberries. I had an apple later: that'll do. As I didn't have any agave (how remiss of me...) and had not managed to secure a mortgage with which to purchase maple syrup, I commonly threw in a dessertspoonful of caster sugar: yeh, not even soft brown, or muscovado: maverick baking! Grrrr! I also made bigger pancakes than she suggested as I thought one's the 'size of a large chocolate coin' were a tad pointless, so went with tablespoon dollops instead, thus making 6 cakes 'o' pan. Plus, last change: I used a few drops of lemon extract in place of lemon rind. How very reckless of me.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Miss Dahl(ish)'s Lemon and Ricotta Pancakes</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">110g ricotta cheese</div><div style="text-align: left;">70ml semi-skimmed milk</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 large egg, separated</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 teaspoon lemon zest (or a few drops of lemon extract)</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 dessertspoon caster sugar (or agave or maple syrup if you're posh)</div><div style="text-align: left;">30g stoneground spelt flour</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 teaspoon baking powder</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">sunflower oil for the pan</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><ul><li>In a large bowl, mix together the cheese, milk and egg yolk with a good sturdy whisk (don't use a machine: this doesn't take long at all)</li>
<li>Add the lemon zest / extract and the sugar and mix in well</li>
<li>Stir in the flour and baking powder</li>
<li>In a separate bowl, whisk the lonely egg white until it turns into white foam (but not into the peaks that one is usually required to whip an egg into)</li>
<li>Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the foamy white until thoroughly combined</li>
<li>Heat a dollop of oil in a small frying pan on a highish heat, pouring out the excess into a cup when it is hot (just before the oil gets 'ripply')</li>
<li>Dollop tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and cook for a minute or two until they start to bubble</li>
<li>Carefully turn them over using a fishslice and cook for another minute</li>
<li>Pop onto a plate and cover with a clean towel to keep them warm and moist</li>
<li>Devour in the style of your choosing</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaBHSEh-IBo2lstPiGfdDJTNXqEv0yMJTybamH0qazu-nzXw6_znEgv_gSBOAVTctdoNhY1dxa2FbGmaMJ9Q6aw6gg7FoFhydMKzospq_y9P0DuTJX2xsvZREzFmAc2kg-4kVsBDTMyY/s1600/cooking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaBHSEh-IBo2lstPiGfdDJTNXqEv0yMJTybamH0qazu-nzXw6_znEgv_gSBOAVTctdoNhY1dxa2FbGmaMJ9Q6aw6gg7FoFhydMKzospq_y9P0DuTJX2xsvZREzFmAc2kg-4kVsBDTMyY/s400/cooking.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">These ones are ready to be flipped over (Sorry, but the pic I took once they'd been made looked awful, but trust me: they are delicious.)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-53042002333215642222011-02-22T18:12:00.001+00:002011-02-22T18:20:56.085+00:00For the love of a hot muffin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Just a quick post to get us all back into the swing of things: how the hell have you been?! Have you lost weight?<br />
I notice that we are down in number by 2, but at least there are still enough of us to play 20-aside football or to create a respectable flashmob or look daunting to small children if we bunch together at a local park by the swings (nonchalant sneering optional). It's far too many to play sardines in my house at least, unless we play in shifts. <br />
I had a moment of domestic goddess madness last week where I fancied something a tad more interesting than Crunchy Nut for brekkers, and so turned to one of my favourite cookbooks, '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spooning-Rosie-Lovell/dp/0007285175/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1">Spooning with Rosie</a>' by Rosie Lovell. It's a wonderful book, celebrating the joy of sharing food and life in good company. The recipes are simple and delicious so that, should hungry chums suddenly appear on your doorstep, you'll be able to feed them well and in a relatively stress-free way. She owns <a href="http://www.rosielovell.co.uk/index.html">Rosie's Cafe</a> in Brixton, and a number of the recipes have been been tested on an appreciative audience. One day, I shall haul my buxom ass over there.<br />
Anyhoots, I sleepily whipped up a batch of her marmalade muffins to a highly appreciative audience. Muffins are the perfect thing to make when you are still asleep and unable to focus as, for them to rise properly, they need to be mixed roughly, with bits still unmixed, quite slapdash and without grace. Warm, filling and luxurious thanks to the melted butter, they more than satisfied the jaded weekend palate, filling the house with comforting scents. The recipe inspired me to have a bash at creating an even more breakfasty muffin featuring a plethora of wholesome gubbins to keep the morning ticking along, and it is this creation I lay at your feet now.<br />
Unless you have friends coming over, or a huge family, allow any spares to cool completely then freeze them. This means you can have delicious warm muffins over a number of mornings: hurrah! Feel free to use nuts and seeds to suit your own particular whimsy. Oh and by the way, the bizarre mixture of semi-skimmed milk and double cream was due to not having full fat milk: that's what I had in and I thought it would substitute well, which it did. Oh yes. Likewise using orange essential oil instead of orange zest: it's what I had in.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Luxurious but darn simple Breakfasty Muffins</b></span></div><br />
<br />
<b><i>Dry stuff :</i></b><br />
300g self raising flour<br />
1/2 tsp baking powder<br />
125g unsalted butter, at room temp and cubed<br />
150g soft brown sugar<br />
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon <br />
20g oats<br />
50g chopped walnuts<br />
50g mixed seeds (I used pumpkin, sunflower and hemp seeds)<br />
1 eating apple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped<br />
<br />
<i><b>Wet stuff:</b></i><br />
125ml full fat milk (or 100ml semi-skimmed + 25ml double cream)<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
5 drops of sweet orange essential oil (or grated zest of 1 orange)<br />
2 tbsps thick cut marmalade<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Preheat the oven to 160oC and adorn a muffin pan with muffin cases</li>
<li>In a large bowl, rub the cubes of butter into the flour and baking powder so as to create a breadcrumby-like happening</li>
<li>Add all the other dry bits to the happening and mix together, with a spoon or a clean hand (yours or someone uncontagious) until it is evenly blended and brings to mind masonry pebbledash, albeit with seeds</li>
<li>Now it's time to get moist: in a separate bowl or jug, mix together all the wet ingredients until they are thoroughly combined, save for the bits of chunky preserved pith</li>
<li>Pour the liquidy melange into the pebbledash and using purpose, a firm resolve and a spoon, roughly combine the juxtaposing elements until just combined but not smooth. Lumps are essential in muffins as they hold the key to their defining texture</li>
<li>Pour, or dollop, the mixture evenly into the awaiting cases and bake for 20-25 mins until golden brown. Check with a skewer at 20 mins: if the skewer comes out clean, they're ready</li>
<li>Allow to cool very slightly before chowing down smugly whilst still in your pjs.</li>
</ul>These are suitable for freezing: allow them to cool completely before freezing. If you like them warm, don't bother to defrost them but simply pop in the oven at 175oC for 10-15 mins. Wrap it in foil if you want the muffin to stay soft or leave it naked for a crisper top.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF_ZFac3y7o6xRLGssnCID_Skh39zioU68Ahs9dDzkoVBqpsOxnCSl2rEnvT2TLUQodcH_5mA5wjeSRI9vv1eJT2To3zDkMeKWhdP2767GsahltmBZ3eCHnfc2PTdzJQdtNnGKMHdgtzg/s1600/warm+muffins.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF_ZFac3y7o6xRLGssnCID_Skh39zioU68Ahs9dDzkoVBqpsOxnCSl2rEnvT2TLUQodcH_5mA5wjeSRI9vv1eJT2To3zDkMeKWhdP2767GsahltmBZ3eCHnfc2PTdzJQdtNnGKMHdgtzg/s400/warm+muffins.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-4005318025747340302010-10-26T15:12:00.001+01:002010-10-26T15:45:47.686+01:00Coffee break<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
Best mates can be ace but just as they enlighten you with joy and understanding, they can also ruin everything. Well, perhaps not everything, but certainly coffee. The simple, if overpriced, act of going out for a delicious latte has been ruined because, to be honest with you, lattes are a bit shit, although I only realised this when NZ-living <a href="http://ktandcoffee.blogspot.com/">KT</a> dragged me* to <a href="http://www.londonelicious.com/dining/2008/11/flat-white.html">Flat White</a> on Soho's Berwick Street and made me sup on an actual flat white. With one taste, coffee imbibing would never be the same again, and I would like to thank our antipodean cousins for caring enough about the bean to conjure such delicious alchemy as to reveal Starbucks to be peddlers of coffee-esque cordial.<br />
Not long after this epiphany, I discovered <a href="http://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/Shops/The-Borough">Monmouth Coffee</a>, the beautiful purveyor of delicious coffee in both <a href="http://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/Shops/Covent-Garden">Covent Garden</a> and in the heart of London's food mecca, <a href="http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/">Borough Market</a>,<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yumptatious/4044243414/" title="order drinks here by yumptatious, on Flickr"><img alt="order drinks here" height="433" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2701/4044243414_699ca0c784.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">It's where the beautiful and caffeine-bereft go to redress the balance, </div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yumptatious/4044241934/" title="The beautiful people at breakfast by yumptatious, on Flickr"><img alt="The beautiful people at breakfast" height="375" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2570/4044241934_82cf53dd11.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">...to share stylish thoughts and titter knowingly at hidden meanings in highbrow text. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="attention and neglect" border="0" height="400" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2721/4043494441_0381ab061a.jpg" width="300" /> </div><div style="text-align: center;">But luckily, they let plebs like me in too.</div><br />
Sadly, I thought that a decent coffee was the preserve of the black-lunged folk of our capital city, but the good word seems to have infiltrated the shires too and the God of Coffee has bestowed His Magical Elixir a little closer to my home, at least. Behold - <a href="http://www.blackdogcafetw.co.uk/">The Black Dog Cafe</a>:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTEE9FcgcFLGTX40gEI-7xelh7agqkRIAdT48akCxmL5sDoV0intwl3VSQRSZtQB7IZ8iSpTYm_D_owo8IDqyYl_UxyLtipfi5eM2p-Ya6osRN3V6XzOmgP1bFFQVEdM63BbzcbdmbhQ/s1600/inside+black+dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTEE9FcgcFLGTX40gEI-7xelh7agqkRIAdT48akCxmL5sDoV0intwl3VSQRSZtQB7IZ8iSpTYm_D_owo8IDqyYl_UxyLtipfi5eM2p-Ya6osRN3V6XzOmgP1bFFQVEdM63BbzcbdmbhQ/s320/inside+black+dog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Apologies for the rubbish pics: I was using my new phone and hadn't quite got to grips with it. However, what I can say is that the coffee was delicious: they use Monmouth beans so it's a quality cup of deliciousness. The staff are uber friendly and if you're feeeling peckish, they have a good selection of fodder (menus available on their website.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVq66LIGCqzogrqRckWMn-eDQCezXpvjGQhFD3Kn1ev47eZcYUfNTsN5MR9jpcvyRKMzxiYTgS7a1n8N4F60eE5_90mAHEhd18ONM60EfhE1FTVDG4yBTbsCBOU-9E5BW35iKTHgCaJI/s1600/perfect+flat+white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVq66LIGCqzogrqRckWMn-eDQCezXpvjGQhFD3Kn1ev47eZcYUfNTsN5MR9jpcvyRKMzxiYTgS7a1n8N4F60eE5_90mAHEhd18ONM60EfhE1FTVDG4yBTbsCBOU-9E5BW35iKTHgCaJI/s320/perfect+flat+white.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ok, so they haven't embraced <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=latte+art&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=V6fFTJrIK5S7jAfeod24BQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CC8QsAQwAA&biw=1366&bih=576">latte art</a>, but the taste is delicious, wholesome and invigorating. It's a small independent cafe in an area of Tunbridge Wells that is stoically independent, slightly bohemian and without the cloud of snobbery that hampers so much of what is wonderful in that town, so I urge you to go to keep that spirit alive. The coffee is wonderful: why would you not go?!<br />
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Can I just state that my coffee snobbery hasn't extended to home...yet, although I do prefer a freshly brewed cuppa as opposed to instant...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yumptatious/2609954439/" title="cworfeee (d2d, day 2) by yumptatious, on Flickr"><img alt="cworfeee (d2d, day 2)" height="500" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2609954439_c8108502b0.jpg" width="466" /></a><br />
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However, I certainly wouldn't judge a friend who gave me a cup of instant unfavourably: drinking at home and drinking out are different experiences. Granted, they don't need to be, thanks to readily-available coffee machines, mail-order beans and youtube instructionals. But coffee in a friend's kitchen, good banter and a welcoming face can elevate even the shoddiest instant cuppa into something celebratory, the oil to grease the wheels of conversation if it should be needed. As long as there are cookies or cake, you can give me any old sluice. Which leads me neatly to...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1a8x9CVa152wQuXeyzgXlyyb9YEMyICFz7Sa-691PLg5aIYGYyTnLnIOQWBs7TN_w5jSOREPYbtoefekt6bll1qbLR9Ka3agZ5nzXX2ehLT-jVkigj8opVt4n1Zih9aiPdH9DVyHy2Y/s1600/cake+of+the+week.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="35" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1a8x9CVa152wQuXeyzgXlyyb9YEMyICFz7Sa-691PLg5aIYGYyTnLnIOQWBs7TN_w5jSOREPYbtoefekt6bll1qbLR9Ka3agZ5nzXX2ehLT-jVkigj8opVt4n1Zih9aiPdH9DVyHy2Y/s400/cake+of+the+week.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This recipe is a bastardization of one from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Borough-Market-Book-Roots-Renaissance/dp/1904104908/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288098068&sr=8-1">The Borough Market Book</a>, which is in turn a version of a recipe by Sara-Jayne Stanes, author of the promising-sounding '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chocolate-Definitive-Guide-Sara-Jayne-Stanes/dp/1904943128/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288098403&sr=1-1">Chocolate: the Definitive Guide</a>'. Now, this tart is everything a chocolate tart should be, although those attributes may seem contradictory: crisp, smooth, sweet and sharp. Use as strong a chocolate as you prefer, but not milk chocolate. I admit that, despite my earlier witterings, I did use instant coffee just because I couldn't be bothered to brew some espresso, but as long as you have a couple of tablespoons of strong black coffee, it doesn't really matter which type it is: it's just there to give the chocolate a bit of balls (technical term).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Wooahhh Mama! Chocolate Tart 'o' Joy!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Pastry:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">90g plain flour</div><div style="text-align: left;">50g cocoa powder</div><div style="text-align: left;">80g unsalted butter</div><div style="text-align: left;">30g ground almonds</div><div style="text-align: left;">60g golden caster sugar</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 large egg (free-range, natch, yet beaten)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Filling:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">240g plain chocolate (I used 70% cocoa)</div><div style="text-align: left;">60g unsalted butter</div><div style="text-align: left;">3 large eggs, separarted</div><div style="text-align: left;">90g golden caster sugar</div><div style="text-align: left;">6 tablespoons double cream</div><div style="text-align: left;">2 desertspoons strong coffee</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><ul><li>butter and flour a suitable ovenproof dish: mine was a shallow ceramic one, measuring 7.5"x11", though my book specifies a 9" round flan tin</li>
<li>first, make the pastry: in a large bowl, sieve together the flour and cocoa powder</li>
<li>add the sugar, ground almonds and stir together</li>
<li>cube the butter, add to the powdery mixture and rub together with fingertips only to create a chocolatey crumble</li>
<li>add the beaten egg to bind it all together in a ball of doughy promise, wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes (or 24 hrs and 30 mins in my case as I forgot I was going out...)</li>
<li>on a lightly floured surface, attempt to roll out thinly to a size suitable for your dish</li>
<li>attempt to hoist the rolled dough into the greased receptacle, tutting as random shapes drip off your rolling pin Dali-style before exclaiming 'Oh fuck this' and popping pieces of rolled dough into the dish, squidging the seams together until it is fully lined and respectable looking</li>
<li>pop the mangled case into the fridge for another 30 mins</li>
<li>preheat the oven to 200C / 400F / Gas 6 </li>
<li>line the case with foil, cover with baking beans or dried beans (that you are not hoping to cook later) and bake blind for 15 minutes</li>
<li>remove the beans and foil and bake again for another 15 mins</li>
<li>now make the filling: melt the chocolate and butter together and allow to cool</li>
<li>whisk the egg whites to form soft glacial peaks</li>
<li>in another bowl, whisk together the yolks and sugar until frothy</li>
<li>add the double cream and coffee to the bubblesome yolks and stir gently and respectfully</li>
<li>pour in the buttery chocolate and using your respectful spoon, marry it all together</li>
<li>fold in the egg whites with reverance...oh and a big metal spoon</li>
<li>pour into the tart case, even out and bake for 20-25 mins </li>
<li>allow to cool and serve with cream, ice cream or a good mate and weak-ass coffee (though delicious coffee of groovy brewing would be better)</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: left;"> Such was the potency of its' deliciousness, I completely forgot to take a photo of it, so you'll have to make do with this sadly executed digital scribble which, however, is a pretty accurate representation:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YX_vw3K7HyymNBDRVxXYOpasAPmHthx0ozdYs1tv9ocsV3FKd01T724yWKJi-oggsiIZgGF9Gxp6z0FIsdQ4ASZZUTPCr3dzaeKngeN2bbcDIkaHUz6hi0fTdWao8YJd0QP-yCDIHX0/s1600/choc+tart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YX_vw3K7HyymNBDRVxXYOpasAPmHthx0ozdYs1tv9ocsV3FKd01T724yWKJi-oggsiIZgGF9Gxp6z0FIsdQ4ASZZUTPCr3dzaeKngeN2bbcDIkaHUz6hi0fTdWao8YJd0QP-yCDIHX0/s320/choc+tart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><br />
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<i>*</i>dragged me, my arse: we skipped as if we were on the yellow brick road<i>. </i><br />
<i> </i><i><br />
</i><br />
<i>For further caffeine inspiration, why not follow <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/interactive/2010/oct/25/london-coffee-walk">The Guardian's helpful trail</a>, or perhaps plough your way through <a href="http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/features/9601/London-s_best_coffee.html">Time Out's comprehensive list</a>. The fabulous <a href="http://www.cosycoffeeshops.co.uk/">Cosy Coffee Shops</a> blog produced<a href="http://www.cosycoffeeshops.co.uk/top-10-coffee-shops-2010.html"> a top 10</a> in January of the UK's best coffee shops, which, Hurrah!, also includes places outside of the London sprawl. It also includes some fabulous coffee shops from around the world as they are currently 'on tour'.</i>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-13374848121053132352010-10-14T15:44:00.000+01:002010-10-14T15:44:46.968+01:00Treasure hunting for adults<span id="goog_266362746">My name is yump and I am addicted to charity shopping...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I like to think of it as 'Treasure Hunting for Grown Ups', although I may be kidding myself because I am actually just <strike>a tight wad</strike> thriftily minded. There is just something about finding something wonderful, that fits, is keenly priced and is no longer wanted, needed or badly fitting to someone else. In fact, the majority of my wardrobe is now cobbled together from the excessive mores of other people's fashion whims, or the remnants of a bored housewives' desparate attempt to achieve some semblance of peace & purpose via the extensive flexing of an ill-advised credit card. And God bless every last one of them!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Now <a href="http://www.localdatasearch.com/tunbridge_wells/town_centre/charity_shops/hospice_in_the_weald-10880800">this is a charity shop</a> that I had been in countless times without realising that there was a whole world of wonder upstairs. It reminds me of the charity and retro shops I used to visit as a student in Nottingham in the early 90's and has therefore become one of my favourite charity shops. Venture up a snug little staircase to find small themed rooms (apologies for the pics: I'm just getting the hang of my new phone..)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52PlQYS1bA0cpnx2q8FYtxZhFMADMzsCOaOLkQ3MrpJGgYaYGiyF_zCuXJl3zU_VK0070pXoL3qp2Yce3Ar8c6YfCRJHWMURSjF6UBGJHeVZ8hsen8xEFv73brJ5IP3lscmhyphenhyphencc8s5FU/s1600/IMAG0016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52PlQYS1bA0cpnx2q8FYtxZhFMADMzsCOaOLkQ3MrpJGgYaYGiyF_zCuXJl3zU_VK0070pXoL3qp2Yce3Ar8c6YfCRJHWMURSjF6UBGJHeVZ8hsen8xEFv73brJ5IP3lscmhyphenhyphencc8s5FU/s400/IMAG0016.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">everything you need for a shimmery shiny, sequin-tastic night out, or just to make that Friday night takeaway curry a little more special</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMq9q9v_bOLuuFwm1Fdme6Lj48pgvtYjxmo3hTNpczs675TRkRJ0VDqlbHLlFATKLuPWctKI4h5PxCzYIJ08DB_hP5f_aMPm47hGYzuZHO5at-v5_ijcVriOXZeMGHH81HgpQlK1fBQ0/s1600/IMAG0018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEind0J7fSxGk_LqhY4ORhVPUOjHs_6Iphh0WPbVvgJXrvcwa6S2a28CEEUj_MSyflDsVmr_pmHNpXBKVqaZi1inYoPQVFloJnqy9bjXETBZ1PG8TQSK1hTMo2SR5ZEWeJ-kvLfYkgYhJr0/s1600/IMAG0021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEind0J7fSxGk_LqhY4ORhVPUOjHs_6Iphh0WPbVvgJXrvcwa6S2a28CEEUj_MSyflDsVmr_pmHNpXBKVqaZi1inYoPQVFloJnqy9bjXETBZ1PG8TQSK1hTMo2SR5ZEWeJ-kvLfYkgYhJr0/s400/IMAG0021.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">everything for the bride on a budget with a lust for meringues and sexual amnesia</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_OZPEhxb4W3cvtCEPh-0KDtKa59OQ3G9pGm05nI0hkbYzAnxBs75chS019DFxJ_zo5PuphEAZQZJLjfONCYvpIIyMUkY8ZWzWJiSYPCIS-f-2rhrVWgsNWYS6Cx6-zM4YO9-412mBd8/s1600/IMAG0023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_OZPEhxb4W3cvtCEPh-0KDtKa59OQ3G9pGm05nI0hkbYzAnxBs75chS019DFxJ_zo5PuphEAZQZJLjfONCYvpIIyMUkY8ZWzWJiSYPCIS-f-2rhrVWgsNWYS6Cx6-zM4YO9-412mBd8/s400/IMAG0023.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">'Rehab'? More 'Retox'</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMq9q9v_bOLuuFwm1Fdme6Lj48pgvtYjxmo3hTNpczs675TRkRJ0VDqlbHLlFATKLuPWctKI4h5PxCzYIJ08DB_hP5f_aMPm47hGYzuZHO5at-v5_ijcVriOXZeMGHH81HgpQlK1fBQ0/s1600/IMAG0018.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMq9q9v_bOLuuFwm1Fdme6Lj48pgvtYjxmo3hTNpczs675TRkRJ0VDqlbHLlFATKLuPWctKI4h5PxCzYIJ08DB_hP5f_aMPm47hGYzuZHO5at-v5_ijcVriOXZeMGHH81HgpQlK1fBQ0/s400/IMAG0018.jpg" width="238" /> </a></div><div style="text-align: center;">...a welcome for 'groovy chicks'...</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELIcH6vSfnHjPJihdI0XYCSHokW2p_fZzVX3HU5QT3k2tAsf6yW8J6yzQpsjLYGOz5CBYeWuq_rr1nQaUK-NYO3CkMVn-9T8Sn9Tnr_L0UFtYo194Sgt-pzAIyH9QtKcvVFIooSfXN98/s1600/IMAG0024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELIcH6vSfnHjPJihdI0XYCSHokW2p_fZzVX3HU5QT3k2tAsf6yW8J6yzQpsjLYGOz5CBYeWuq_rr1nQaUK-NYO3CkMVn-9T8Sn9Tnr_L0UFtYo194Sgt-pzAIyH9QtKcvVFIooSfXN98/s400/IMAG0024.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0oplLC3csZ0H3bmEZ2VrXDzfe1YP6x2eWr6_EvwhI1nDPNrCrAmCATvTfVgOGUbACCuvYzpD2U_Z1buEmbf_EZrq4wLThQGU9U8rLKeJ3oQ_fHCagq6DdjaFDhTAyaUnWzV0gZfhBx34/s1600/IMAG0025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0oplLC3csZ0H3bmEZ2VrXDzfe1YP6x2eWr6_EvwhI1nDPNrCrAmCATvTfVgOGUbACCuvYzpD2U_Z1buEmbf_EZrq4wLThQGU9U8rLKeJ3oQ_fHCagq6DdjaFDhTAyaUnWzV0gZfhBx34/s400/IMAG0025.jpg" width="238" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Just behind me in the mirror, you can just see one of three rails, packed with every shade of man-made fibre ever knitted. I think my camera couldn't cope anymore and just said 'Enough now'. I'll get a pic when it's calmed down a bit</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>But don't forget that charity shops are a fantastic source for wonderful books, tossed out by ingrates, gawd bless 'em. Here are some I picked up recently:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk6vVzzd9_ws29yPpaXrCDE5YS_O55y-ExPqcc2FCULcVG1x_IjQ7rcgbaUlNYfw4LFg53gZY31QMEYC6_pmp4QrrZsCAcCz0XmVEAQcXZ3_KsxypI7uIHRz86QJKGWD_Z4D79aF37KVE/s1600/recent+reads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk6vVzzd9_ws29yPpaXrCDE5YS_O55y-ExPqcc2FCULcVG1x_IjQ7rcgbaUlNYfw4LFg53gZY31QMEYC6_pmp4QrrZsCAcCz0XmVEAQcXZ3_KsxypI7uIHRz86QJKGWD_Z4D79aF37KVE/s320/recent+reads.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><br />
<i>from top:</i> <a href="http://danrhodes.co.uk/">Dan Rhodes</a> is a wonderful author, who lulls you into a cosy world of calm and warmth before kicking your much-loved cat down the stairs, although you do feel better for him doing so nonetheless. <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gold-Dan-Rhodes/dp/1847670482/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287065120&sr=1-1">This book</a>, however, stays warm and buys you a pint. Read him.<br />
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<i>middle</i>: the late <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/books-obituaries/7533118/Elspeth-Thompson.html">Elspeth Thompson</a> wrote the fabulous '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wonderful-Weekend-Book-Reclaim-Pleasures/dp/1848540531/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1287066824&sr=1-1">The Wonderful Weekend Book</a>', an inspiring read to really help you make the most of your weekend. I bought it when I left my own weekend job and aim to gradually work through the suggestions.<br />
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<i>bottom</i>: I love Gisele Scanlon's energetic and informative <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gis-egrave;le-Scanlon/e/B0034O9APA/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">'Goddess' books</a>, and '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Goddess-Experience-Custom-made-You/dp/0007274718/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1287066707&sr=8-2">The Goddess Experience</a>' is just beautiful and addictive: I can't help but dip in and read about a life so remote from my own, although it contains enough attainable morsels for me not to feel depressed or inadequate. Sheathed in a perfectly functional and pretty white jacket, look what's underneath...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFloxprn13BkqD03EGXFpNUvoyUALK1Bfjsl-NdVO-b_qV5LeQoeaGogLj3AbYGuL0NcjWSsJovRwRZjv-Fm370SQw5g_PVaz3hYMSqbGim_6Lsk6ZPNscfA1pzzWYOErYSTXOHCi_I4g/s1600/naked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFloxprn13BkqD03EGXFpNUvoyUALK1Bfjsl-NdVO-b_qV5LeQoeaGogLj3AbYGuL0NcjWSsJovRwRZjv-Fm370SQw5g_PVaz3hYMSqbGim_6Lsk6ZPNscfA1pzzWYOErYSTXOHCi_I4g/s320/naked.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">mmmm; pretty!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtSSMDc2o-l6ffJf0sIL22a36M8TXstBZxI_ZdZxBoTlXsTgnsxzpVHBlfwt6FiNnm3eK7IRSP5Y5MM70xnwVd-oLZU7JnYuWmYp4iC7nPNEcaS6qXNlh0xEUuKaxxTIOpNysLgrxrzB0/s1600/naked+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtSSMDc2o-l6ffJf0sIL22a36M8TXstBZxI_ZdZxBoTlXsTgnsxzpVHBlfwt6FiNnm3eK7IRSP5Y5MM70xnwVd-oLZU7JnYuWmYp4iC7nPNEcaS6qXNlh0xEUuKaxxTIOpNysLgrxrzB0/s320/naked+back.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">...as is the back</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpaGzz8-oHnvvv1lJbQR3LR3uD1BOg2OQ5gABWpGU26xmskREKayh0TkHSfbd6sXdOPkl4eVAqbID5UTny_6Rwqo4NAa-PC7Zu7DLy6nxxe0wff0U7XtGsDbRdMfGYTIKC5chGWtxA34/s1600/taster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpaGzz8-oHnvvv1lJbQR3LR3uD1BOg2OQ5gABWpGU26xmskREKayh0TkHSfbd6sXdOPkl4eVAqbID5UTny_6Rwqo4NAa-PC7Zu7DLy6nxxe0wff0U7XtGsDbRdMfGYTIKC5chGWtxA34/s320/taster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">...as is the inside</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Another useful resource is <a href="http://www.greenmetropolis.com/">Green Metropolis</a>: make a wish list, let it fester for a few months and feel like Xmas when one of the titles becomes available (I only ever seem to want books that no one sells on there.) I once bought a perfect copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wood-Andy-Goldsworthy/dp/0500515174/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287057549&sr=8-1">Andy Goldsworthy's 'Wood'</a>...for £3.75! Wonderful! (actually, I think with postage it touched 5 whole pounds...)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are some handy rules to follow in order to get the most from your charity patronage-ing:</div><ul><li>Give clothes a good sniff: if it smells of wet dog / death, put it back. In my extensive experience, no amount of washing or fragrance dousing / pickling will get rid of that smell. You will think you've managed it until it meets the rain; that moistness will awaken the sodden-hound odour. Save your energies for something worthwhile, like knitting or tree hugging.</li>
<li>Unless you really like 'upcycling' clothes and can do it competently without friends patting you on the head, saying 'Lovely dear' whilst slipping Prozac into your tea, do not buy anything that 'just' needs its sleeves shortening / waist nipping in / collar re-shaped etc. Know your limits and step away: let some other <strike>fool</strike> seamstress tackle it (or you could get a professional to do it, if you really think it'll be worth it)</li>
<li>Ponder what an 'upcycle' looks like and whether or not they are easy to ride</li>
<li>Only buy something that really grabs you: if you think 'It'll do', put it back and move on. Drag some weak-ass understanding of karma into your brain, determining that if it doesn't leap out at you with joy, it is not meant to be and the universe will shun you and that feck-awful drop waisted devore sack you are tempted to buy just because, compared to the racks of beige polyester surrounding it, it looks 'interesting'</li>
<li>Take your own carrier bags: it's one way to avoid the pinched-lip tut of the volunteers on the tills (carrier bags are like gold, though not as precious as The Decent Coat Hangers)</li>
<li>Don't laugh and point at something on the rail, screaming 'My feckin eyes!!! What is it?!' I guarantee the person behind you was about to buy it and will now be left to shuffle solemnly out of the shop to re-evaluate not just their taste but whether it is connected to their inherent loneliness within</li>
<li>Be careful not to buy back your own stuff, unless of course you are doing it for altruistic reasons, or because your minamalist spouse finally cracked and 'donated' it all </li>
<li> When buying books, check that all the pages are there and in the right order. Then check the blurb to see if it's something you will actually read</li>
<li>If you are a serial horder, consider the 'one in: one out' rule. The stuff we surround ourselves with should make us smile, not like we're trapped in a never ending ball pit of shoddy crockery, stained paisley and shit</li>
<li>Do not argue / physically assault fellow treasure hunters over an item, unless the item in question is a brand new pair of <a href="http://www.toast.co.uk/">Toast</a> trousers, in your size(ish) for, no really, £2, in which case use every ounce of cunning and muscle tissue to get them</li>
<li>Do not buy something that is not your size (especially important for teacups): you're just setting yourself up for a fall. Buy clothes once you've lost the weight: in the meantime, utilise belts and braces with quiet smugness<br />
</li>
<li>Don't haggle! It's a charity shop for feck's sake! Unless your need for a Karen Millen (one button missing) jacket is more important than the cure for cancer, pay the price on the tag, you selfish idiot.</li>
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</div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-70157105819137196902010-09-09T19:25:00.001+01:002010-09-09T19:33:16.780+01:00Yay! September!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
Right: ambassadorial things first -<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINxdI-ZDqIACDszskWC_yUcVPioID7TOoPwgT1r6vA8kpVM-9FrWwnbowQ7LI5RGVb5HZvrN4jwWJWknAUyYTzv7WlklSD1m97sjTYRJsXj7N3NBWg6gG40pKuJs4XYjJabmcf5a6KGU/s1600/autumncoverLGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINxdI-ZDqIACDszskWC_yUcVPioID7TOoPwgT1r6vA8kpVM-9FrWwnbowQ7LI5RGVb5HZvrN4jwWJWknAUyYTzv7WlklSD1m97sjTYRJsXj7N3NBWg6gG40pKuJs4XYjJabmcf5a6KGU/s320/autumncoverLGE.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The autumn issue is out now - <a href="http://ukhandmade.co.uk/magazine/">go lookie!</a> (and this isn't shameless self-promotion: I didn't contribute to this one.)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi190MPLdsxZwPVkQcuiHFrHjWT5vQwkHoKPWpeWFWvGYHeLg1r0n_9DXBgshbnoM90wfVyaOvGqQmx3Z7mzNXBfwdE8e1l6XKr0qz9eLoku0ScXg3AnIdlUqx_7aZSpNDWiE_9vc2ATEY/s1600/News+n+stuff.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi190MPLdsxZwPVkQcuiHFrHjWT5vQwkHoKPWpeWFWvGYHeLg1r0n_9DXBgshbnoM90wfVyaOvGqQmx3Z7mzNXBfwdE8e1l6XKr0qz9eLoku0ScXg3AnIdlUqx_7aZSpNDWiE_9vc2ATEY/s200/News+n+stuff.png" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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I love September: perhaps it's those years in education that always make it feel like the true start of the year. Usually, it's still warm but there's that crispness in the air, that freshness, the lazy low-slung sun casting long shadows through the stained glass leaves, the promise of woodsmoke and the need for cardigans. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfPQ8HN3spIG4-tdr-duD0o8OKHlibWOhFLOmn3jwuXVZaEwlpti0r3PUT6iRJP_-f9DPZ9OBc5p5XXbex9gcR36wTeGnSnz9sUARbL_4psmlO7gyVl8pgg-twKrxxT-nUkBriAXeE8Q/s1600/Here+comes+Autumn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfPQ8HN3spIG4-tdr-duD0o8OKHlibWOhFLOmn3jwuXVZaEwlpti0r3PUT6iRJP_-f9DPZ9OBc5p5XXbex9gcR36wTeGnSnz9sUARbL_4psmlO7gyVl8pgg-twKrxxT-nUkBriAXeE8Q/s320/Here+comes+Autumn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">It's also the time for cobweb bling...(sorry; this pic doesn't show it's full majesty thanks to the exuberant glare of the 7am sun, but you get the gist.) </div><div style="text-align: left;">This does also herald the migration of the spiders into the house, but all four of us are trained in the use of cup and postcard (or flattened cereal packet for the really big muthas) so it's not really a problem.</div><br />
I've finally started on the task of sorting our house out, starting with the books. The issue of how I sort my books (and cd's, before we sent them on a sabbatical in the loft) has been a source of much amusement, wonder and fear to Mr Yump. I sorted them all into genres: all the fiction together (then alphabetised), all the art books together (ditto), all his animator-nerd books together, music, health, witchcraft etc etc. (ahhh bite me: I work in a bookshop- at least I didn't have face outs...or shelf talkers...or pyramid the books in the bathroom) Still, despite my sad efforts, only I could ever find anything. This time, however, after seeing these in the May 2010 edition of <a href="http://www.livingetc.com/">Livingetc</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_bbRAxW8jhhqDqyhkhoV9jpKTzVYTfr64DTv9Chgnjx2p7zY_EkgtJrmWHPk0DbG_sXSt-wNLTR7KEKdf0mhWQvtVgDT4jJQfLq8b9laoJrUCXmSttCryUhXGYUbNExnr49VrpYB3aA/s1600/Livingetc+p85+May+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_bbRAxW8jhhqDqyhkhoV9jpKTzVYTfr64DTv9Chgnjx2p7zY_EkgtJrmWHPk0DbG_sXSt-wNLTR7KEKdf0mhWQvtVgDT4jJQfLq8b9laoJrUCXmSttCryUhXGYUbNExnr49VrpYB3aA/s400/Livingetc+p85+May+10.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheKezxO40q045Ulygeh-hcVR_N-p49AC52u5LORegYmOMfqC6tP9FkA0-oKeDvxwQgNxYOzkMmcnBMW56LZU-6shEArSa6K41QSJZu1dXcFnHN8IgRhTC6VoNlH_DLdjn6VF3IBLZGSVg/s1600/Livingetc+p101+May+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheKezxO40q045Ulygeh-hcVR_N-p49AC52u5LORegYmOMfqC6tP9FkA0-oKeDvxwQgNxYOzkMmcnBMW56LZU-6shEArSa6K41QSJZu1dXcFnHN8IgRhTC6VoNlH_DLdjn6VF3IBLZGSVg/s400/Livingetc+p101+May+10.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><br />
...and then reading about it on Huma Qureshi's<a href="http://www.herlittleplace.com/2010/04/rainbow-of-books.html"> blog</a>, I thought I just had to give it a go:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVTzkReqwoVL_I0MyvnYrH-YH6xFD2Avoh17Dd8-tUzHRpArSN_AyR5fHA76aNFTaizgCNFQZ2t_M7338ZObM0JEFy0p7OC3oUasmA3yp49dUlMtwL-x_ZT7T4TmGK3MHCvEXhMf74bg/s1600/shelves+of+joy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVTzkReqwoVL_I0MyvnYrH-YH6xFD2Avoh17Dd8-tUzHRpArSN_AyR5fHA76aNFTaizgCNFQZ2t_M7338ZObM0JEFy0p7OC3oUasmA3yp49dUlMtwL-x_ZT7T4TmGK3MHCvEXhMf74bg/s400/shelves+of+joy.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(and, yes: I have put similarly coloured fripperies on each shelf) </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The greens and blacks are on a freestanding Ikea Billy shelf (picture to follow), but the bigger black books are on the other side of the chimney breast:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtasqbKsDS7D3-DNxOeWjKhWSsiMxau_r8178jBRN0NRJGjIhzlywrFFlCvvgQucvFMlTVTxo7sf_1-sehNalck8ri8gBteXrmxKqu16XymT2LWX90_QumfQgaB8hgDVRpRRHO7Am5vA/s1600/a+touch+of+order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtasqbKsDS7D3-DNxOeWjKhWSsiMxau_r8178jBRN0NRJGjIhzlywrFFlCvvgQucvFMlTVTxo7sf_1-sehNalck8ri8gBteXrmxKqu16XymT2LWX90_QumfQgaB8hgDVRpRRHO7Am5vA/s320/a+touch+of+order.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>You might also notice the brown and 'natural' coloured books plonked next to the<a href="http://www.ilm.com/"> ILM</a> bibles: I guess I should have put the books in the traditional Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain order, but once I'd thwacked up the whites, I could not be arsed doing it again. I'm sad, but not <i>that</i> sad. They looked rather fab, waiting on the floor;<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiys_ADAT_PY6CMVBs0PAvnCiJPxAZ1XatZUgFet_Sw7ucMwUr9NKiPoxq6as0Kftj4iL-y2ZaZuEuo9ECv_Jmd4XozLQxi5M9KE2c9z3W1mk3QtUEDd_puEVrpEVQf2-lS_voNXrl-G0M/s1600/word+cacophony+and+boots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiys_ADAT_PY6CMVBs0PAvnCiJPxAZ1XatZUgFet_Sw7ucMwUr9NKiPoxq6as0Kftj4iL-y2ZaZuEuo9ECv_Jmd4XozLQxi5M9KE2c9z3W1mk3QtUEDd_puEVrpEVQf2-lS_voNXrl-G0M/s400/word+cacophony+and+boots.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I have, however, refrained from colour-coding the dvds and games, much to the relief of Hubs. As a system, you may think it makes finding the right book tricky: not at all, as long as you remember what that book looked like! Sprogling #1, famous for not being able to find things gaffa taped to her nose, actually found the book she needed. Result!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4th-mbTGbSaHbUJUdK0qYpt9rf4NV_IdEhBK8LxUpHsXA0bz-_FILG62LoSACRPtdJU6qj1ilfi8BQBbkmNrwCnzdhmDqWh6CMVSNgu0a-bX7YfFkKq_YU31LdAPi9qSTb6WViG1p30/s1600/books+of+the+week.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="35" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4th-mbTGbSaHbUJUdK0qYpt9rf4NV_IdEhBK8LxUpHsXA0bz-_FILG62LoSACRPtdJU6qj1ilfi8BQBbkmNrwCnzdhmDqWh6CMVSNgu0a-bX7YfFkKq_YU31LdAPi9qSTb6WViG1p30/s320/books+of+the+week.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Such is the need for colour order that I have matched my glasses to my current read thus:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTtSL4dWMqKyp2T0OLNIdLBFjfLGo63i8bVlerIMbQAHY2xEsdZKjM2gMyoRvhJ3c89pqEcrp7NjuhB1nDB8PwDPp3k0PA3fBYxl_4tdA8RMPkl3M3hhp5nrFeAFu0rHVSGCf9_SfjFI/s1600/colour+co-ordinated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTtSL4dWMqKyp2T0OLNIdLBFjfLGo63i8bVlerIMbQAHY2xEsdZKjM2gMyoRvhJ3c89pqEcrp7NjuhB1nDB8PwDPp3k0PA3fBYxl_4tdA8RMPkl3M3hhp5nrFeAFu0rHVSGCf9_SfjFI/s400/colour+co-ordinated.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I love <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Country-Girls-Bloomsbury-classics/dp/0747521034/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284051806&sr=1-11">this story</a>: O'Brien paints a picture of rural Ireland that is simultaneously grim and beautiful, brutal yet warm. It is hopeless and optimistic and rather wonderful. It is also, I have decided, the perfect size for a work of fiction: you can take it anywhere without it impinging your slacks (slacks are best unpinged) I was surprised, and worried, because the delicious <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_p_n_binding_browse-b_0?rh=k%3Abloomsbury+classics%2Cn%3A266239%2Cp_n_binding_browse-bin%3A492563011&bbn=266239&keywords=bloomsbury+classics&ie=UTF8&qid=1284052179&rnid=492562011">Bloomsbury Classic</a> editions are still at large in the 2nd hand ether. (well, Amazon) Look at all the gorgeous covers! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0eY1ANtl9-vOuVYQrWf_mdTQkm6n8sXdr_xec11XlxaFXCjABDNWuCwhhRa7akJRoGgaLim7MXvG5dcmjfmGAACpWdY3TwohyBaaQYXkEi7xZYE-dJMcY2j3uf2fV9N8FYq7cJ6sQtcQ/s1600/cake+of+the+week.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="28" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0eY1ANtl9-vOuVYQrWf_mdTQkm6n8sXdr_xec11XlxaFXCjABDNWuCwhhRa7akJRoGgaLim7MXvG5dcmjfmGAACpWdY3TwohyBaaQYXkEi7xZYE-dJMcY2j3uf2fV9N8FYq7cJ6sQtcQ/s320/cake+of+the+week.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
What do you do when you have fruit that's a tad unappealling? Thwack it into Google and see what turns up! I found this delicious recipe on a wonderful blog called '<a href="http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/blog/dessert-recipes/apple-pear-cake/">Reluctant Gourmet</a>'. I have doctored it a tad: a little less sugar, using apples I happened to have (probably Braeburn) and used self raising flour with a touch of baking powder as I was bereft of plain. I also baked it for 15 mins less. However, it created a delicious cake: firm vanilla with soft, cinnamon-soused fruit. It's as if I've baked autumn. As are all my favourite recipes, it's stupid-easy: do it! <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Baked Autumn</b></span><br />
<i>Cakey Bit:</i><br />
250ml sunflower (or veg) oil<br />
4 eggs (free range and large)<br />
260g golden caster sugar<br />
2 teaspoons vanilla extract<br />
460g self raising flour<br />
1 teaspoon baking powder<br />
1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
100ml orange juice<br />
<i>Fruity Bit: </i><br />
2 pears<br />
2 eating apples<br />
4 tablespoons soft brown sugar (or caster)<br />
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Preheat the oven to 180oC / 350oF / Gas 4</li>
<li>Grease and line a large tin (mine has a 9.5" diameter)</li>
<li> In a large bowl, beat together the oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla until blended and a festival of creamy beige</li>
<li>Bless the beigeness with a flurry of sieved flour, baking powder and salt and mix well until you are unaware where the dry stops and the moist begins</li>
<li>Add the ornage juice into this confused state and mix gently together</li>
<li>Now prepare for the fruity bit: in another bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon</li>
<li>Peel, core and slice the fruit and pop into the spicy sugar: stir it gently so that every piece is coated</li>
<li>Pour (or spoon, as you may find the cake mix has turned quite gelatinous) about a third of the mix into your prepared tin</li>
<li>Top with half of the fruit in an even fashion</li>
<li>Pop a third of the mix onto the fruity layer like a cakey duvet</li>
<li>Pop the remaining fruit onto the duvet like scatter cushions</li>
<li>Deciding that it looks like a cold night ahead, pop a final duvet layer of cake mix onto the sleeping cushions</li>
<li>Bake for 1-1hr 15mins until it's firm, golden brown and produces a clean skewer when stabbed in the traditional baking fashion (rather than the rather strenuous 'Psycho' motion: unless you need to slice it quickly for a party or such is like.)</li>
<li>Allow to cool for about 10 or so minutes before popping onto a cooling rack.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJskaLFHTJQo9xPu29iXz34xIYU8ioSuwO9fGZVW8HZb5-Gkj9oiq6nAizCOqA2O_gtgImvPoP1yqbvjWG1MVcWFTH0O-DvYXAQaqJtylvGcFgKt-LN2pyyzcIQTnWtvlzf0-ZWIo41Q/s1600/Sept+blog+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJskaLFHTJQo9xPu29iXz34xIYU8ioSuwO9fGZVW8HZb5-Gkj9oiq6nAizCOqA2O_gtgImvPoP1yqbvjWG1MVcWFTH0O-DvYXAQaqJtylvGcFgKt-LN2pyyzcIQTnWtvlzf0-ZWIo41Q/s400/Sept+blog+003.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> Laters xyumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-79540200674361874742010-08-25T23:00:00.000+01:002010-08-25T23:00:39.473+01:00And so it begins...again...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPCJ_Or817vPn1umNkTe6Q7GyFRBIcZwdnbHTEhb6YVAxGHdV0aWjaPOwyc_8lj4A3aHBRnkLMwy-WzVCJKfLNUrHjAtigUD8bBS-ltINMsxB-6kHaIaThMnq9iNS6sMsuJMOWMrMBIU/s1600/News+n+stuff.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="31" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPCJ_Or817vPn1umNkTe6Q7GyFRBIcZwdnbHTEhb6YVAxGHdV0aWjaPOwyc_8lj4A3aHBRnkLMwy-WzVCJKfLNUrHjAtigUD8bBS-ltINMsxB-6kHaIaThMnq9iNS6sMsuJMOWMrMBIU/s200/News+n+stuff.png" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ok, let's get you up to speed...</div><ul><li>yumptatious, the shop, is no more. This isn't really surprising as I hadn't made any new stock for well over a year, let alone embraced the all-consuming art of marketing. Perhaps I will resurrect it in the future, perhaps I won't. So, in the meantime, if anyone has any idea with what I can do with about 500 yumptatious/etsy Moo cards, do let me know. </li>
<li>despite not being at the coalface of the crafting community, I am still involved via those lovely fellas at <a href="http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com/">UK Handmade</a>. In the past, I have written craft book reviews for the magazine (though not for the upcoming autumn edition) and used to write the Sunday 'Lifestyle' page on their blog on my ownsome until I cried out for help, in the style of Ron Burgundy of course, and am now part of a '<a href="http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com/search/label/lifestyle">Lifestyle</a>' team: <a href="http://www.adeledesign.com/">Adele</a> does all things gardening, <a href="http://www.gillyflowerjewellery.co.uk/">Gilly</a> is our herbal and ointment Queen and I'm still the flippant gobshite with the cake. Go and have a look! Plus, I have been drafted in to support our wonderful UKH mag editor, <a href="http://sakurafubukidesigns.blogspot.com/">Anna</a>, so will be deputy ed for the winter issue: no pressure there then...</li>
<li>I am no longer a school governor which means: a) I get my life back and b) I have no excuse for not doing the things I want / ought to be doing. I have handed over five bin bags of shredded documents to our bin men recently. Being a governor completely took over my life but it was worth it and the experience challenged me in a whole heap of original and unexpected ways.</li>
</ul> So...what's the blog for, if not to promote my fabulous wares?! Well, let's be honest, I deviated from that premise a long time ago, so expect more of the same, just with no tenuous links to my shop...although, should I resurrect my shop, my links will have no tenuous-ness about them, of course..ahem.<br />
<br />
I'm off to the coast, but let's catch up when I get back. I'll be in a chattier mood as we'll be entering my favourite season...autumn!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0ld_G19yFT9yCmITMLrul1AW9ugtuAZrfobHdIDlH0tV4fEx7bga-VZs9PB6PkBirTijkXIAE4u8xKxEM2bu2igZdV4wmG5nNpVXQPqnZX6e_yFBeZ6YeHM1Nbp8jUT6I1V2-UPyrsk/s1600/nearly+there.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0ld_G19yFT9yCmITMLrul1AW9ugtuAZrfobHdIDlH0tV4fEx7bga-VZs9PB6PkBirTijkXIAE4u8xKxEM2bu2igZdV4wmG5nNpVXQPqnZX6e_yFBeZ6YeHM1Nbp8jUT6I1V2-UPyrsk/s320/nearly+there.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">See you soon x</div><div style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wonderful-Weekend-Book-Reclaim-Pleasures/dp/1848540531/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282753504&sr=8-1">lovely</a>)</div><ul></ul>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-14467235515376394062010-04-09T19:00:00.001+01:002010-04-09T19:03:54.647+01:00No...sleep...til hometime!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5oDQLGHo-OWh__51R8WVAvjg7sH_id4dIb7XkEze60BIapLXUnoEWkH1aEB_m2WENNVMAkkjYDbjGqGvmyatsrM3JS1xdDwO5GxDVKKFI2QFGqXgseas599UP-PijIsvAaApPqw3DCY/s1600/spring+graces+the+wood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5oDQLGHo-OWh__51R8WVAvjg7sH_id4dIb7XkEze60BIapLXUnoEWkH1aEB_m2WENNVMAkkjYDbjGqGvmyatsrM3JS1xdDwO5GxDVKKFI2QFGqXgseas599UP-PijIsvAaApPqw3DCY/s320/spring+graces+the+wood.jpg" width="287" /></a></div><br />
<br />
So, after my initial encouraging noises to Mr Yump's suggestion of a couple of night's away with the family, camping in a <a href="http://www.coolcamping.co.uk/">highly rated</a> campsite, I was suddenly silenced as the waves of reality crashed into my mind:<br />
a) this is England and<br />
b) this is Easter <br />
However, as half the cost had to be paid upfront, it was too late to stop it: I am not in the habit of wasting money (unless it is over exuberant shoes...or cd's where only one song is listenable...or craft books) so off we went to the wilds of Sussex, a whole hour away.<br />
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjPp-LG-kBz5d-E-G9sykEg6ONRKhIFM5xZvB20T8amFkhZ8qC83w_bBwtNw7dw9FsCAmuHRsF9A7s_qnk1969Z9uKsNFXg5udxgRBDfGsJeGCZ4gIGLDeT4-roSr3Fw6-uqLDAphJuY/s1600/guardian+of+our+pitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjPp-LG-kBz5d-E-G9sykEg6ONRKhIFM5xZvB20T8amFkhZ8qC83w_bBwtNw7dw9FsCAmuHRsF9A7s_qnk1969Z9uKsNFXg5udxgRBDfGsJeGCZ4gIGLDeT4-roSr3Fw6-uqLDAphJuY/s320/guardian+of+our+pitch.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://www.blackberrywood.com/">Blackberry Wood</a> is something magical, a relaxed wooded haven, away from the self-perpetuated stresses of our modern electronic lives: it provides the luxury of having one's own wooded space, a glade of one's own. Not only that, it is one of the very few campsites that allows campfires. Each pitch has its own fire pit, with logs, kindling and a very marvellous coal available on site. Cars are kept in the car park, which at first is annoying when setting up and pulling down camp, but is actually a fabulous idea: no cars coming and going at stupid times of the day. Therefore, a more rustic method is used to transport the wealth of camping ephemera:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaF84FAKhMSlp-A9DiWQeGba52ivLr9PdOAIDAFMlnLHYLSI_du3_9uhKYFqTV0Os8DCOYhvhMiWaCzv1Ut4JVhS49WHfwZgmUIl_gWgeTxgMetbxFHIkuaIOS4KAeVfsiNqGyCHBYYsE/s1600/camping+gear+logistics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaF84FAKhMSlp-A9DiWQeGba52ivLr9PdOAIDAFMlnLHYLSI_du3_9uhKYFqTV0Os8DCOYhvhMiWaCzv1Ut4JVhS49WHfwZgmUIl_gWgeTxgMetbxFHIkuaIOS4KAeVfsiNqGyCHBYYsE/s320/camping+gear+logistics.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We stayed in Bramble Hide, a clearing encased in a canopy of branches heavy with fresh buds.We strung up the obligatory bunting and regretted not shoe-horning in a crate of tealight lanterns that would have turned our little patch of woodland into nature's own Vegas. Mother Nature, however, likes a decorative flourish and threw enough stars into the Eostre sky to render Ikea's candle-housing obsolete.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8cjvxw3zCbyR1xhM1FHMxLQnCX0uWPFhyphenhyphenxqCUA2LTKEX1I_Q8VKKMnBAPMwrifkfnQHO1SfQhD7GOZHSWw6rG5shuJR7gtrK00J-ByQrC-oFO_aO5frMfXbaMVWCUXpB9Ab6GaVL2xyA/s1600/hidden+away.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8cjvxw3zCbyR1xhM1FHMxLQnCX0uWPFhyphenhyphenxqCUA2LTKEX1I_Q8VKKMnBAPMwrifkfnQHO1SfQhD7GOZHSWw6rG5shuJR7gtrK00J-ByQrC-oFO_aO5frMfXbaMVWCUXpB9Ab6GaVL2xyA/s320/hidden+away.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
The pitches are remote enough to be private yet close enough not to feel isolated. Indeed it was lovely to look around at night and see the welcoming glow of our neighbours' fires.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLoSbG3nMI4KQRAzAJszanfy1_T6g5KGML9b_RbRcekoLVopB9Jvaa0F2M5DNxDgOQDbEXjE0U7VxH6h0GtLEUbmEL6wihFBsUUjqkTN7n0DUyqrnrGzdVgRdOgMWk6X1uobJAiwaxu4/s1600/more+facilities.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span id="goog_145186044"></span><span id="goog_145186045"></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9146_Qz2wpPDdkIDH3_hsSCLYHtLl-lcx_p39SDaLw52XUhzUexXpzjOdYKxmtQrMCRhwz1QIaGXuK70oTC59qqHKl0IvYnzGkkdmbHiji8AIAOWChSW4GRV1ylw2nWdN8klfOcCBECQ/s1600/the+facilities.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9146_Qz2wpPDdkIDH3_hsSCLYHtLl-lcx_p39SDaLw52XUhzUexXpzjOdYKxmtQrMCRhwz1QIaGXuK70oTC59qqHKl0IvYnzGkkdmbHiji8AIAOWChSW4GRV1ylw2nWdN8klfOcCBECQ/s320/the+facilities.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The facilities are extremely basic but clean and functional. There is a shower, which costs 20p, and doesn't have a roof. However, one of the benefits of camping before the hot weather starts is that you are unlikely to be working up a sweat (well, I suppose it depends on your camping companion and your reason for being there in the first place) and a swift going over with a cold flannel (or an organic wet wipe) each morning should suffice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLoSbG3nMI4KQRAzAJszanfy1_T6g5KGML9b_RbRcekoLVopB9Jvaa0F2M5DNxDgOQDbEXjE0U7VxH6h0GtLEUbmEL6wihFBsUUjqkTN7n0DUyqrnrGzdVgRdOgMWk6X1uobJAiwaxu4/s1600/more+facilities.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLoSbG3nMI4KQRAzAJszanfy1_T6g5KGML9b_RbRcekoLVopB9Jvaa0F2M5DNxDgOQDbEXjE0U7VxH6h0GtLEUbmEL6wihFBsUUjqkTN7n0DUyqrnrGzdVgRdOgMWk6X1uobJAiwaxu4/s320/more+facilities.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>There is hot water to clean those fire-burnished pans but it comes in the form of an electric shower unit dispersing hot, but fluffy water with which to tickle the dirt away. (do take your own scouring pads)<br />
The toilet does flush and had an abundant supply of soft toilet roll.<br />
<br />
The site specifies that no music is allowed other than nature's own radio and it is a 24 hour station, at it's liveliest at dawn. I hadn't realised that it is like chinese whispers: one bird sings a tune which is repeated by another, who adds his own flourish. Bird #1 then comes up with another song which is again repeated, and embellished, by bird #2, and so it continues. Then the other birds do their own versions of this very polite and civilised morning greeting, until the air is full of birdsong, each one fighting for attention through the engulfing fractured chorus. It's all very beautiful and stirring but quite frankly unneccesary at 4.30 in the morning. Throughout the day, those glorified chickens, pheasants, strut through the woodland with purpose and authority, the females following meekily. They holler, they fight like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfKXbS7f5Xw">Colin Firth and Hugh Grant </a>but, at the end of the day, it's refreshing to see them alive and vain rather than squished on the roadside on a many-bended country lane.<br />
<br />
I like the basic aspect of camping: it all goes quite 'early man', when all that matters is keeping the fire going, finding something to eat (though not neccesarily hunting and killing it), cooking it and staying warm. (picking nits out of each others hair is optional: depends just how neanderthal you wish to get.) To live a life based around eating, drinking and stoking fires is luxury indeed and surely something to aspire to. Without meaning to sound like a complete hippy (and it might help to bear in mind that I am typing this on a laptop with the sound of trains coming into the station and the continual thrum of the nearest A-road in the background) but we need to stop once in a while and soak up the outdoors, release ourselves from the shackles of routine (albeit by setting up a new one) and pay attention to the wind running through the branches, the industrious tapping of the woodpecker, the hooting of a hungry owl, <strike>the drooling of a rabid beast intent on feasting on human flesh</strike>. It is certainly a place that draws you in and asks you to investigate:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MLXcCVEjCjyTHWpIVbKdZI7bQuYssMME0-DyTTzAtRXs_4xNCDck1-eZfpm0SpqIcQ2l4WL5zb33iWRzGpkHkDaCb5x0RXYxG_2dmDm4qePW8nBaMthCZP82je1veg2b5jofitDfVI4/s1600/over+the+bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MLXcCVEjCjyTHWpIVbKdZI7bQuYssMME0-DyTTzAtRXs_4xNCDck1-eZfpm0SpqIcQ2l4WL5zb33iWRzGpkHkDaCb5x0RXYxG_2dmDm4qePW8nBaMthCZP82je1veg2b5jofitDfVI4/s320/over+the+bridge.jpg" width="195" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">over the bridge</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge0VnzL_1aYdxToA_hX-9NyJZd8C6OvfGGqRosrREbL0M5dNQluvbtVjLkNy3CDgMQ5odezv67fvDz2ORxdJrauqtg13YnU2Wz2xH9bdYVuWpcIzI1xa4yGf3T5Ne810skCvIFChR8hI4/s1600/tyre+swing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge0VnzL_1aYdxToA_hX-9NyJZd8C6OvfGGqRosrREbL0M5dNQluvbtVjLkNy3CDgMQ5odezv67fvDz2ORxdJrauqtg13YnU2Wz2xH9bdYVuWpcIzI1xa4yGf3T5Ne810skCvIFChR8hI4/s320/tyre+swing.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">via the tyre swing</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4jLsXuyIckVLOHBfSIv8FUWFH5Ng-6Rn_QpfGQRxw_WpMn2TsXuFOT0kvwt70720VJTYWQOOwiE45GZAW8gAFubaeO56wj7q-G5C5hWecNhyphenhyphenD7NWOkSQeNUENRspz7N-o31zVIPES4Ls/s1600/swooning+trunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4jLsXuyIckVLOHBfSIv8FUWFH5Ng-6Rn_QpfGQRxw_WpMn2TsXuFOT0kvwt70720VJTYWQOOwiE45GZAW8gAFubaeO56wj7q-G5C5hWecNhyphenhyphenD7NWOkSQeNUENRspz7N-o31zVIPES4Ls/s320/swooning+trunk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">past the swooning trunk</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60gfep6K9M98hjRP48Zy_mz0XUrvQe_IhHhl1CYpLndD6AtQb08H5PzLjhyphenhyphenzEThR3s-pYeQJVT9540PGOsf6pmWJmn88SkbcrcM7xppF5QgGQAcEuzlKfbyQ_v6nRY6RgRNn0O-8dWwY/s1600/sleeping+campers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60gfep6K9M98hjRP48Zy_mz0XUrvQe_IhHhl1CYpLndD6AtQb08H5PzLjhyphenhyphenzEThR3s-pYeQJVT9540PGOsf6pmWJmn88SkbcrcM7xppF5QgGQAcEuzlKfbyQ_v6nRY6RgRNn0O-8dWwY/s320/sleeping+campers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">tiptoeing past the sleepy campers</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-WvMRPCA6mNBaL3PVBNlSFZZwpfCMQUCxNrh91pCA73htMVAtEshd83ep2U08rgFIGVYEgeMqsGS2SXb_sKZq-wgQnEOLLur99H8Kx3RkdP3pU13rH3yOua-kMyh0STA-DYGzqxdjWw/s1600/awake+campers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-WvMRPCA6mNBaL3PVBNlSFZZwpfCMQUCxNrh91pCA73htMVAtEshd83ep2U08rgFIGVYEgeMqsGS2SXb_sKZq-wgQnEOLLur99H8Kx3RkdP3pU13rH3yOua-kMyh0STA-DYGzqxdjWw/s320/awake+campers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">...and stomping past the not-so-sleepy campers</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvU1eTnDrJa27tz3Sm0ybXD8gvdUbrqB78iI0F-Z1gzz4wEo9WdBgyp8nPDLA9rt4HUg7qXEWEY5zqdtftVUYxL-7uAZhds_VIDHWoOXNLyIf0AWv9kEAJDmaVIODawXq7-_4r4ohkUE/s1600/gnarly+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvU1eTnDrJa27tz3Sm0ybXD8gvdUbrqB78iI0F-Z1gzz4wEo9WdBgyp8nPDLA9rt4HUg7qXEWEY5zqdtftVUYxL-7uAZhds_VIDHWoOXNLyIf0AWv9kEAJDmaVIODawXq7-_4r4ohkUE/s320/gnarly+tree.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">snarling at the gnarly tree</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">...and back to put the kettle on. </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The trip was seemingly sponsored by marshmallows, in particular marshmallows on skewers aflame, eaten whilst warm with a burnished crust (tasting of candyfloss) which we lovingly named 'Flaming Death' in honour of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120623/">PT Flea's ill-advised circus finale</a>, or squished, straight from the fire, betwixt two chocolate digestives. Luckily we packed our toothbrushes. In fact, we skewered many things, including hot cross buns (success) and grapes (unsuccessful) We also cooked popcorn in tinfoil which was going well in smaller batches before we set a larger batch on fire accidentally, thus making more charcoal.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWd9Xlh7x0O5R8eQmd-pEZMHsMjfrwHCKjJUic3oQZO5GGs2PMOcf-OC6pqpkGH_j7DYJJLKfZnNbTyCHx0IDkpeYHg1B_VOjCP6Ew9jh4bqFCyVhMRDG_6FNNR25mHTrXt7lgmsB_Uw/s1600/flaming+popcorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWd9Xlh7x0O5R8eQmd-pEZMHsMjfrwHCKjJUic3oQZO5GGs2PMOcf-OC6pqpkGH_j7DYJJLKfZnNbTyCHx0IDkpeYHg1B_VOjCP6Ew9jh4bqFCyVhMRDG_6FNNR25mHTrXt7lgmsB_Uw/s320/flaming+popcorn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Look how it burns!</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
Many lessons were learnt:<br />
<ul><li>a Sat Nav will take you the route the crow flies when what you actually need is the route the crow would take were it on crutches</li>
<li>marshmallows have three purposes: the first is for the playing of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYRCtEJyEVc">Chubby Bunny</a>, the second is to be offered up as sacrifices to The God of The Flame in order to create Flaming Death and the third is for lazy Smores</li>
<li>wet wipes aren't just for babies: they're for life</li>
<li>you can't beat a real fire, but you can successfully fan it's flames with a dustpan</li>
<li>kids should climb trees, fall over and get dirty more often than they do</li>
<li>sleeping bags are evil, like a <a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/49714-large.jpg">Snorkel Parka</a> / babygrow hybrid. </li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfk17Gcf0OlZx3bnLA2hz63ekXhodWvbzS9-gTCO3pl6eGLdU-KQSDhHnt1Z_6Hde9Eem4Msp0BRm3iFCsTjMjXC6TTKkrtNA9c-oalGGbMUiIcACIb5BCZjLhrrGV7-OzdjPnO-koZtM/s1600/the+not+so+fabulous+side+of+camping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfk17Gcf0OlZx3bnLA2hz63ekXhodWvbzS9-gTCO3pl6eGLdU-KQSDhHnt1Z_6Hde9Eem4Msp0BRm3iFCsTjMjXC6TTKkrtNA9c-oalGGbMUiIcACIb5BCZjLhrrGV7-OzdjPnO-koZtM/s320/the+not+so+fabulous+side+of+camping.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Whilst I would love to embrace the whole sheepskin rugs and duvet glamping approach, pod-size and car logisitcs dictates that we must use sleeping bags. I have added them to my list of things I would like to torch when my hormones finally get the better of me.</div><ul><li>you can never have enough blankets</li>
<li>only Ray Mears can set up a camp with a backpack full of essentials: you are not Ray Mears, you are not fighting for your survival but have gone away to relax and recharge. You will be shocked by the amount of crap you deem essential for your basic comfort. Remember that you are not alone in this and that there will always be someone with more camping crap than you. As long as you clear it all up afterwards, it doesn't matter</li>
<li>in reference to the above: you will never have a car big enough for all your camping gear. If you should succumb to '<a href="http://mydeco.com/the-magazine/how-to-go-glamping-thats-glamorous-camping">glamping</a>', you will need a tour bus (or just <a href="http://www.busesonscreen.net/screenim/sumhol04.jpg">a bus</a>)</li>
<li>wellies are your friends and they love you. All other shoes should be ashamed of their uselessness and hide their embarrassment by staying in the car </li>
<li>camping is essential for those that live in teeny houses: the feeling of space on your return is immeasurable </li>
</ul><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijprnIDOvew02S_Bg510pUY9uBsrAf60gMtUkdisbHf8zUrVYN0g_27xbEQsbeejcuBEog4y8lNGkou-pj5Jx5N_yw1GrB_zgw-pBzCtlfoVjPqJ5P9nnzT5yJjZB_Gcbls4gTsbOLBpQ/s1600/our+little+protector.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijprnIDOvew02S_Bg510pUY9uBsrAf60gMtUkdisbHf8zUrVYN0g_27xbEQsbeejcuBEog4y8lNGkou-pj5Jx5N_yw1GrB_zgw-pBzCtlfoVjPqJ5P9nnzT5yJjZB_Gcbls4gTsbOLBpQ/s320/our+little+protector.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Now go hug a tree...or have a snoozle against one</div><br />
<br />
<ul></ul>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-13209454905816365482010-03-22T23:39:00.002+00:002010-03-22T23:42:06.041+00:00Pancakes, pie and hero worship<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ever since I first watched the breathtaking '<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/">Pulp Fiction</a>', I have wanted to try <strike>heroin</strike> <strike>driving a taxi barefoot </strike> <strike>being somebody's gimp</strike> blueberry pancakes and at last I have. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQWlAwgQ5EdO7n7sWgvUxK7fZUXaEpN2jx4Na2jfZBSBPzVFE24X2ssLNUDwWuf03eCBOOeToFX7qrp6L2R7mp7nwn95Zyuvetng-ce1VDE1ZjcyHaYnTuX4g2Ijccwl1nezhNhNIdIE/s320/march+10+018.jpg" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">They were well worth the wait.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I took <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/homemadeinstantpanca_87271.shtml">Nigella's pancake recipe</a> and as they sat cooking in the pan, as pancakes should, I dumped a handful of frozen blueberries onto each one. This kept the blueberries moist and possibly retained some of their nutritional goodness...not that that was a factor - it's all about the flavour.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tTiC5_PtUDiHeMqRhrg9r4xnqBua_fOwCujWuZ0eOR3fPeYFKbYxulzd9INKkdAkiZUYFmuSJ4X-RBxByz472z0G9Mv5s2jAa-kFng_liTZSxG4oW341ETndNR_SX0kBS1DK-gRDOPc/s320/march+10+019.jpg" width="320" /> </div><div style="text-align: left;">These were sprinkled with sugar: obviously, if we'd had any, maple syrup would have been better, perhaps some bacon too, or just a splash of single cream, just to highlight its' treat worthiness, but the sugar did the job. We really should make more of breakfast: if only there was enough time to do so, as it really does set the tone for the day, all be it, in this instance, the culinary yearnings of a murderers' <a href="http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/5/5780/z5780115X.jpg">wide-eyed innocent love</a>. <br />
<br />
It was <a href="http://www.britishpieweek.co.uk/index.php?p=hints_and_tips">National Pie Week</a> here in the UK recently, not that I need an excuse for pie. Pie's are deceptively simple: you can go crazy on intricate pastry and delicate fillings, but the best pies are robust, simple and thrown together with hungry aplomb, as are the best people.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrofJQdcCv_r4ewO_f2u9aOEPrERmRlsA9NQIT9WzKGvu71XnkFxUv7TV5f01w0vGoPU9mNGDkEGLzJvr9SEIjIN4AgnhkAEju6K0jjRFJjebRmF_04ANoQv8l0iLFT4yMGiBvVdwes0s/s1600-h/6+music+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrofJQdcCv_r4ewO_f2u9aOEPrERmRlsA9NQIT9WzKGvu71XnkFxUv7TV5f01w0vGoPU9mNGDkEGLzJvr9SEIjIN4AgnhkAEju6K0jjRFJjebRmF_04ANoQv8l0iLFT4yMGiBvVdwes0s/s320/6+music+003.jpg" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Again, I used frozen fruit. So often do I buy a stack of delicious-looking fresh fruit, only to watch it <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIzXWGcb3u0">slowly rot</a>: frozen fruit negates that sad inevitability. This pie was made from the scrag ends-of-bags of a selection of frozen fruit, including cherries, blueberries and summer fruit. It is embarrassingly simple, but feel free to complicate matters with the finest unsalted butter known to very few people, the addition of fine spices of thine choosing to the fruit and / or the pastry, lacing the fruit with a splash or 5 of booze, a sprinkling of nuts and seeds, adding fine oats to the pastry or adding a handful of dried fruit for a cascade of flavours and textures. Or, just do this:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The 'Why the hell don't I make pie more often when it's so feckin easy?!' Pie </b></span><br />
<br />
<i>Pastry:</i><br />
180g plain flour (this, being <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Appetite-What-You-Want-Today/dp/1841154709/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269290893&sr=8-1">Nigel Slater's</a> pastry, doesn't need sieving: Hurrah! He is wise.)<br />
100g unsalted butter, straight from the fridge<br />
ice-cold water (or at least damn cold water that you've added a few ice cubes to)<br />
<br />
<i>Filling (bask in the glow of its' preciseness):</i><br />
roughly 5 or 6 handfuls of fruit (sorry: I just used what I had rather than followed a recipe)<br />
approx 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar and possibly a sprinkling of cinnamon<br />
a bit of milk, for glazing and sh*t<br />
approx 1 tablespoon demerera sugar for pre-baking pastry sprinklage <br />
<br />
<ul><li>Cube the butter and rub into the flour in a large bowl until it resembles breadcrumbs. </li>
<li>Add enough water to the crumble to bring it together into a firm, soft dough. </li>
<li>Pat it into a flattened round, wrap in clingfilm and thwack in the fridge for about half an hour.</li>
</ul><ul><li>Preheat the oven to 200oC / Gas mark 6 </li>
<li>With reckless abandon, plop your frozen fruit into a wanton pie dish (according to Mr Slater, it needs to be big enough to hold a litre of water, so, for God's sake! Just do as the man says!) </li>
<li>Sprinkle with the sugar (and spices, nuts, seeds, bacon -it might work-) </li>
<li>Remove your pastry from its chilly abode and, on a floured surface, using a floured rolling receptacle, roll your pastry out until it is big enough to hat the dish. </li>
<li>Moisten the edge of the dish with a little of the milk and place the pastry on top of the fruit. Don't bother faffing around trying to make fluted edges or poncy cut outs: for this pie to work, it must look as if it has landed straight out of the sky, possibly chucked out of the window of a floating castle by a bored but passionate (and now hungry) woman.</li>
<li>Brush with milk, sprinkle with demerera and then stab two air-holes in the top of the pie in an unprovoked fashion.</li>
<li>Bake for about 40-45 mins until the top is golden and enticing.</li>
<li>Slather in the jus of your choosing: double cream, ice cream, custard, Bailey's etc</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFs1mefZXOPhoKRw9ibjfLPfEU9iFlBv9CY9UsdyZ7lTMkaTebkQ3iwl_5EirEfSYL_4KIL1Yq5lC_bz6XCOWIycZGfStX3YvPr0ecHiRLNJY4O__oL2cDG3obDz7m2s9h0N8ZKoAON-o/s1600-h/6+music+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFs1mefZXOPhoKRw9ibjfLPfEU9iFlBv9CY9UsdyZ7lTMkaTebkQ3iwl_5EirEfSYL_4KIL1Yq5lC_bz6XCOWIycZGfStX3YvPr0ecHiRLNJY4O__oL2cDG3obDz7m2s9h0N8ZKoAON-o/s320/6+music+003.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I've started going to the gym: this won't hurt...</div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And, naturally, from baking, we move onto hero worship: <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/spaced">Spaced</a>, to be precise. People who love this wonderful series don't just love it, they absorb it. Phrases meld into their language and unleash themselves onto the unsuspecting uninitiated. Being the bad parents that we are, we introduced our kiddlings to the joy of Spaced at far too young an age. I am happy to report that my little (and not so little) nerds are familiar with pretty much all the cultural references therein, (and therefore my son thinks of David Walliams as a <a href="http://www.websnark.com/archives/vulva.jpg">Vulva</a>. ) It is quite simply one of the most imaginative comedies ever to be seen, with director Edgar Wright using techniques, previously only used on film, to produced a stylish visual smorgasboard of tasty televisual meat...or something. They (writers <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0828961/">Jessica Stevenson</a> -now Hynes- and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0670408/">Simon Pegg</a>) only made two series, but they are utter perfection. Such is the respect that fans realise that a new series, so late in the day, would not work. far better to discuss what might have happened to our beloved characters than to be put through another <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUkCJDkG3fg">Phantom Menace</a>. Naturally, this adoration unleashed itself onto Facebook, culminating in an homage to the series that is itself doused in homage, and further proof of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sqSQ5Vu8vM">unspoken telepathy</a> between Spaced geeks. Oh yes, my friends: Spaced Flashmob! Naturally, I took the day off work (my assistant manager telling me that that was the finest reason anyone had ever given for a day off.) and dragged (that's a lie: they couldn't wait and had been practicing for weeks.) the family up to London for 2 minutes of sheer stupidity and joy. I mean, what else is there to do on a wet Saturday in Trafalgar Square?<br />
<br />
Ok, I know we were supposed to have dispersed at the end as if nothing had happened, but we wanted to celebrate the madness of it all, and then disperse.<br />
<br />
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<br />
If you look carefully, you may be able to spot my blue-hatted self, using Mr Yump as a gun turret in the bottom lefthand corner, around 0.11...<br />
<br />
May your week be just as tasty and foolish. <br />
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<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-79830474709520418542010-03-16T23:13:00.001+00:002010-03-17T10:28:40.866+00:00A plea from my ears<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXo5wCHwlR2ovAUfBaomdJDJGgqsa43wW4aNfSGcS9yukS7lustmlivNN3ZkDhyphenhyphen2xrFWK5ku69LZO49Xl42ekgWoybKrpZu_Jtn9fq1kK9lkET8bP6KCGXx6ySngRuYv5hKD3lSbl6ZBQ/s1600-h/I+don%27t+want+to+hear+anything+else.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXo5wCHwlR2ovAUfBaomdJDJGgqsa43wW4aNfSGcS9yukS7lustmlivNN3ZkDhyphenhyphen2xrFWK5ku69LZO49Xl42ekgWoybKrpZu_Jtn9fq1kK9lkET8bP6KCGXx6ySngRuYv5hKD3lSbl6ZBQ/s320/I+don%27t+want+to+hear+anything+else.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Recently, the BBC <a href="https://consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/departments/bbc/bbc-strategy-review/consultation/consult_view">announced proposals</a> for a series of cost-cutting and streamlining manouevres sending me into a panic not seen since Roger and Andy Taylor first left <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWIZHxolI0">Duran Duran</a>, the major change being the culling of the utterly marvellous <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/">6 Music</a>.<br />
Why is 6 Music so important? Firstly, it doesn't patronise it's audience but brings us in to the proceedings: 'We're passionate about music and we know you lot are cos that's why you're here, so help yourself to a biccie and tell me what you think of this'. It is ageless, catering for the music-powered teen, insulted by the banality of banter on <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/">Radio 1</a> (until after 7pm when all the interesting DJ's come out to play, including <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/zanelowe/">Zane Lowe</a>, who's particular brand of intense enthusiam some find a little unpalatable, though I personally love it) and the over-30 muso, warmed by <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/">Radio 2</a> but not enthused by anymore, although the fabulous <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/the-radcliffe-and-maconie-show/">Mark Radcliffe and 6 Music's Stuart Maconie</a> are definitely worth a listen. Yes, I may be wider and more wrinklier than in the prime of my youth, but my ears are still hungry for those songs that make my heart go 'Oh...yes!' that music that make us feel truly alive. 6 Music appreciates that this is different for everyone and its DJ's, being people rather than personalities, will say if they don't like something, although they will say it respectfully and not for bitchy needs. This station has introduced me to so many new acts of utter fabulousness, as my Facebook chums will know, as I am constantly blocking their news feeds with something I have just heard and have to share. (Plus it acts as a useful bookmark me for later.) 6 Music, however, isn't just about new music: it's just about good music. It is one of the only stations, be it radio or tv for that matter, that frequently plunders the priceless BBC archives of session material, left to gather dust by blinkered dj's on the hunt for<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCopQAVxeU0"> the new sound</a>. It therefore manages to educate and enlighten whole generations of listeners who would otherwise have to receive their knowledge from restrictive sources that believe sticking Tom Jones on the main stage at Glastonbury is 'edgy' etc. It provides a platform for new and established bands by allowing them to play live sessions.<br />
6 Music also provides some of the most entertaining listening, from the glorious <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamandjoe/">Adam & Joe</a> (sadly, currently on a break: let's hope there is still a station for them to come back to...), to the sublime <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/huey_morgan/">Huey Morgan</a> (who broadcasts live rather than pre-records (by the way: have you heard the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge35O2h_Xn0">FLC's latest song</a>? Delicious!) via the literary-doused <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/jarviscocker/">Jarvis Cocker</a>, just north of the original Blue Peter bad boy, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p7myn">Richard 'Love the show!' Bacon</a>, side-stepping to the beautiful, intelligent and wry <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/lauren_laverne/">Lauren Laverne</a> (who has, herself, partaken of some rather fabulous musical melanges herself: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7maZZOQ_hKA&feature=related">Kenickie</a> and me and Mr yump's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlDr4J5Q790&feature=related">wedding song</a>) and and and: oh it's all so damn good! Seriously, why aren't you listening to it now?!<br />
<br />
Wit, wisdom, warmth and wicked tunes (and no adverts): please, tell me where else I can find this mix?!<br />
<br />
<br />
Here are a few of my favourite tracks that I doubt I would have heard had it not been for my beloved 6 Music (please note, it's not all new, just good!):<br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;"><br />
<a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1204722">Her Return</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.myspace.com/dontmove">DON’T MOVE!</a> | <a href="http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=videos">MySpace Music Videos</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/9696636">Peggy Sue - Watchman</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/brittneybean">Brittney Bean</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Please BBC: leave 6 Music alone. It is the best thing you have ever created, and that is truly saying something.<br />
(Don't forget to<a href="https://consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/departments/bbc/bbc-strategy-review/consultation/consult_view"> have your say</a>.)yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-44044546609484247382010-02-13T18:54:00.000+00:002010-02-13T18:54:15.603+00:00Stopping to smell the coffee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlgDvYoYmhAzvPG4T2MI_lcZ3W-mdrtPBXbPr2S33KJh-a7awPLeJm8r-D9o3tlH4YLnP-6QQ-cojowenSVRAXF_0ir0z505d1GBNtCVUT_zemhsjMPEftU3OGoMjCawe3zqetU5gl7o/s1600/blog+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlgDvYoYmhAzvPG4T2MI_lcZ3W-mdrtPBXbPr2S33KJh-a7awPLeJm8r-D9o3tlH4YLnP-6QQ-cojowenSVRAXF_0ir0z505d1GBNtCVUT_zemhsjMPEftU3OGoMjCawe3zqetU5gl7o/s320/blog+011.jpg" /></a></div><br />
After a hearty breakfast (porridge cooked with semi-skimmed + a dash of vanilla extract, throwing in some dried sweetened cranberries for the last minute, then adding sesame + pumpkin seeds, walnuts or pecans, a sprinkle of demerera and cinammon) I donned my beloved wellies and went for a much needed long walk around one of my favourite parks. I didn't take any photos as I just wanted to walk and take in what was going on around me rather than documenting it: selfish, I know. I've been to that park numerous times over the last, wowsers!, 20 years but had never strayed from the beaten path. This time I did, allowing my sturdy legs to go where they wanted. To find something new in the familiar is always a treat, perhaps a timely (for me at least) that it's not what you look at, it's how you look at it that counts. To be bored by life is, well, frankly, boring, and we should constantly be looking to see new beauty and quirkiness everywhere. (methinks the Lemsip has kicked in a little too powerfully...)<span style="color: black;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">In town, I turned off from my usual automaton path, curious by a sandwich board promising 'Good Food, Good Coffee, Great Welcome', and discovered it wasn't just a hollow tagline...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdSOMrKf8_NHmxFYlnAarRC33enKYi_TLyOsx0WAVBdZm4ljEqYB45BRLQurUQmqJDAX6QMIy-S119EDNST41d-cRr5TniddSisYK0JpVWNlLAJRixYAPsCvB5Q5bBt2MW2azMnY52-g/s320/February+2010+001.JPG" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Delicious granary toast with butter and honey: why is it that toast made by someone else always tastes better than toast you've made yourself? Please also note that here, a large latte is indeed a large latte.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnrKbvpU6Zy3xZFlSAbssqBmoFMrwM0a9hqMibzyqsFuwB-FlhrXF80h1wY_8XmaNHkHYXdSHqktR2mflxnCKuq7_NG-zB68CTK6n8yf41XgCYe4qtfdNU6JaGQvA0JriIsS0bZAZ3mg/s1600-h/February+2010+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnrKbvpU6Zy3xZFlSAbssqBmoFMrwM0a9hqMibzyqsFuwB-FlhrXF80h1wY_8XmaNHkHYXdSHqktR2mflxnCKuq7_NG-zB68CTK6n8yf41XgCYe4qtfdNU6JaGQvA0JriIsS0bZAZ3mg/s320/February+2010+004.JPG" /></a><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplesfIhfLeTIoG_TB9urNSjDV2B7npWfiIHDpz6alNqGpgguyHTQDanseVwz-X7OrpXj30gfb1LN0o8JnauMs6hC2k3ESbyvRYHaw6_ox5fxGA2oRe65sf852ZCbb7KXx4nsbjlfXLUE/s320/February+2010+005.JPG" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cafedivine.co.uk/index.htm">This</a> may well be my new favourite place. A happy, laid back atmosphere, with delicious coffee, locals popping in to pick up lunch orders - it's amazing how much gossip can be exchanged in the time it takes to buy a coffee.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCc8bYGm0k0a6tf1o3tCVZsI1s-r8uS53SGuL0AiDyzdn8geaNkaPrF41Armky3r_iU2_QrpGgNxWyvGbUusu9JQXNRN8Z4Ep0ghj0jc1oLgVUbGW2O3Ip-fgrIPLjnxpkI69jzxBvf4/s1600-h/004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I finally, after much knitting, unknitting, frustration and stubborn ignoring off, finished one fingerless glove (from<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Homemade-Gorgeous-things-make-love/dp/0007284799/ref=pd_cp_b_3"> this beautiful book</a> that, however, fails to mention that stitch holders will be needed....) </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCpqcwKkgz3MCzKoHWalR8habwosba1TbMPBTeGYSYhb5Lp6p8Ww-nRAaMTcJgys7A5VT5oMnuNUqEThRVgn9Or-dhhRPzkwsm2hCN_CYS2u7_Ut-wPlh2AzfXP0lX6pRnfhLzDraMi8/s1600-h/blog+007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCpqcwKkgz3MCzKoHWalR8habwosba1TbMPBTeGYSYhb5Lp6p8Ww-nRAaMTcJgys7A5VT5oMnuNUqEThRVgn9Or-dhhRPzkwsm2hCN_CYS2u7_Ut-wPlh2AzfXP0lX6pRnfhLzDraMi8/s320/blog+007.jpg" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the second glove, I snaffled a couple of stitch counters which, although they haven't exactly changed my life, have improved my knitting notation and the sanctity of my books. Such a simple idea makes a difference.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACcU5m6I_IMqga2lCu1Z7WospYrS4hvebmo1iKxDoF3QBQhXA1l_F79LpnQYBdEhUcggp8_ZnSdxEyWNu7CE48TtB3xXe23fZIzsgaCmKlDmea36I3ZkbVkDpQQ3_lij2IQFQEdxACDc/s1600-h/blog+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACcU5m6I_IMqga2lCu1Z7WospYrS4hvebmo1iKxDoF3QBQhXA1l_F79LpnQYBdEhUcggp8_ZnSdxEyWNu7CE48TtB3xXe23fZIzsgaCmKlDmea36I3ZkbVkDpQQ3_lij2IQFQEdxACDc/s320/blog+010.jpg" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I know it's wrong, though not illegal, but I have fallen in love with yet another book on baking. Now I know I have waxed lyrically and overly flowery over many a book determined to make my upper torso akin to that of the Michelin Man (though without the searing sexual potency) but this one is just fabulous. I've already spread the gospel over on the <a href="http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com/">UK Handmade blog</a> and feel duty bound to recommend it to you, good people. All hail, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Easy-Baking-0-Linda-Collister/dp/1845977467/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266080445&sr=8-1">'Easy Baking</a>' by Linda Collister!!! And just to convince you of the utter fabulosity of this epistle, here is a recipe from therein: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCc8bYGm0k0a6tf1o3tCVZsI1s-r8uS53SGuL0AiDyzdn8geaNkaPrF41Armky3r_iU2_QrpGgNxWyvGbUusu9JQXNRN8Z4Ep0ghj0jc1oLgVUbGW2O3Ip-fgrIPLjnxpkI69jzxBvf4/s320/004.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Delicious and Essential Pecan Spice Bars</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">90g unsalted butter (at room temperature, unless the room is either a sauna or walk-in fridge)</div><div style="text-align: left;">3 tablespoons Golden Syrup</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 large egg</div><div style="text-align: left;">180g self raising flour</div><div style="text-align: left;">pinch of salt</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 teaspoon mixed ground spice</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 teaspoon ground ginger</div><div style="text-align: left;">100g coarsely ground pecan nuts</div><div style="text-align: left;">11/2 tablespoons milk</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Spicy pecan topping</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">2 tablespoons plain flour</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 tablespoon demerera sugar</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 tablespoon soft brown sugar</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg</div><div style="text-align: left;"> 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger</div><div style="text-align: left;">30g unsalted butter, diced and at room temperature (see above)</div><div style="text-align: left;">40g pecan halves</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>preheat the oven to 180oC / 350oF / Gas Mark 4</li>
<li>line and grease a 20cm-ish square tin (or equivalent)</li>
<li>in a large bowl, cream the butter, on its own, with nothing but an eager spoon to keep it company</li>
<li>beat in the golden syrup then add the egg, beating it until 3 becomes one (ingredients that is)</li>
<li>sift together the flour, salt and spices into the buttery melange and stir together</li>
<li>add the pecans and milk and stir well</li>
<li>pour this delicious cacophony of potential loveliness into the prepared tin</li>
<li>now make the topping: in a clean large bowl, rub the diced butter into the flour, sugar and spices until you get clumps of dough. (I didn't achieve this: mine just turned to breadcrums, which still tasted good, but I'd like to give you something to aim for)</li>
<li>stir in the pecan then scatter in a smaller scale version of a cliched farmer sowing seed in a hearty manner (this is not a crude euphemism by the way...)</li>
<li>bake for 25-30 minutes until firm under your hungry touch</li>
<li>allow to cool before transferring to a wire rack for further cooling opportunities</li>
<li>cut into 15-ish pieces and devour at whim.</li>
</ul>Happy Valentine's Day, by the way. x </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCpqcwKkgz3MCzKoHWalR8habwosba1TbMPBTeGYSYhb5Lp6p8Ww-nRAaMTcJgys7A5VT5oMnuNUqEThRVgn9Or-dhhRPzkwsm2hCN_CYS2u7_Ut-wPlh2AzfXP0lX6pRnfhLzDraMi8/s1600-h/blog+007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACcU5m6I_IMqga2lCu1Z7WospYrS4hvebmo1iKxDoF3QBQhXA1l_F79LpnQYBdEhUcggp8_ZnSdxEyWNu7CE48TtB3xXe23fZIzsgaCmKlDmea36I3ZkbVkDpQQ3_lij2IQFQEdxACDc/s1600-h/blog+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-19967045491440585122010-01-21T13:21:00.000+00:002010-01-21T13:21:43.722+00:00A few of my favourite thingsHere's a recipe for a happy yump:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPMDiOC0wcr6wjTCVpMXbFRKMJmrFMNin6ywYJIv4aU8kYJYkNHDHpnGabYV4eq14c7RAVd8ncOca7I5cYhVUBHHwaVqMJCIA-2dunuo-uPmAEMwuad0nIH0KRzVFq5kfmnBQWSOOnVoU/s1600-h/a+few+of+my+favourite+things+Jan+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPMDiOC0wcr6wjTCVpMXbFRKMJmrFMNin6ywYJIv4aU8kYJYkNHDHpnGabYV4eq14c7RAVd8ncOca7I5cYhVUBHHwaVqMJCIA-2dunuo-uPmAEMwuad0nIH0KRzVFq5kfmnBQWSOOnVoU/s320/a+few+of+my+favourite+things+Jan+10.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>Clockwise from bottom right:<br />
<ul><li>I'm drawn to this shade of yellow like a magnet to the fridge. I just find it comforting, not joyous: it's warm and gentle, wise perhaps. It does, however, make me talk bollocks - ho hum. The <a href="http://www.coatscrafts.co.uk/Products/Paper+Crafts/WashFilz-it/Wash+and+Filz-it+Wool.htm">yarn</a> I'm using is specifically designed for felting (I'll let you know if it works) and the <a href="http://www.knitrowan.com/books/rowan/Rowan-Felted-Collection.aspx">beautiful pattern book</a> is from the bargain bucket at C&H Fabrics. It's a beautiful book, even if I don't use any of the other patterns. Eye candy is underestimated and should be devoured as often as possible.</li>
<li>After losing my first ever knitted hat, and feeling despondent from knitting never-ending fingerless gloves with 4-ply, I resolved to knit a new hat with chunky-as-you-like <a href="http://www.sirdar.co.uk/yarns/fashion/Big_Softie_F040">Big Softie</a> yarn. I started whilst beginning the week cheerfully with a new english '<a href="http://www.inspector-wallander.org/">Wallander</a>' with the wonderful Kenneth Branagh (but do try and catch the original Swedish version, often on BBC4, which I think is marginally better, though both reduce the current crop of televisular dirge to mere cataracts) and finished the following afternoon: this instant yarn gratification was just what I needed. However, I over-estimated the girth of my head, or at least the length of it, but luckily my finishing was neat enough to allow for a turned brim. And it was just in time for all the snow. I am still ploughing on with the mittens and may have them finished by Xmas, when I will probably burn them in a ritual sacrifice to the Goddess of Craft, asking Her for patience and fatter yarns in future. The pattern is from '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0761128182/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=471057153&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0761135901&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=11GZ4JV2A3QD9PQKNMGY">Stitch and Bitch</a>' by the way, should you wish to while away the hours whilst watching Swedish drama of the greyist, weightiest yet atmospherically sumptuous variety.</li>
<li>The land of my dreams is Paris at the mo, and if anyone would like to buy me <a href="http://www.rightmove.co.uk/overseas-property/property-27667934.html?locationIdentifier=WORLD_REGION%5E163925&sortByPriceDescending=true&maxBedrooms=3&displayPropertyType=flats&pageNumber=4&backToListURL=%2Foverseas-property%2Ffind%2FFrance%2FParis-Isle-of-France.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DWORLD_REGION%255E163925%26sortByPriceDescending%3Dtrue%26maxBedrooms%3D3%26displayPropertyType%3Dflats%26index%3D30">this apartment</a>, I would be most grateful and would even send you cake. I am feeding this daydream with a daily munch from the delicious visual buffet of '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paris-Decorators-Stylists-Source-Unique/dp/1892145707/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264027773&sr=8-1">Paris: Made by Hand</a>' by Pia Jane Bijkerk (who has a rather beautiful <a href="http://blog.piajanebijkerk.com/WordPress/">blog</a> too.), a delicious collection of '<i>the city's artisans, createurs, and craft boutiques</i>'. If you are going to Paris, physically or in your mind, I whole heartedly recommend it: it's small enough not to be cumbersome and should lead you into dark spaces of illuminated joy that you wouldn't have bothered with before. If you are going, could you bring me back anything from <a href="http://lepetitatelierdeparis.com/welcome.html">this amazing shop</a> please? Merci!</li>
<li>I am currently addicted to the BBC digital station, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/">6music</a>. Facebook chums will already be aware of my regular spamming of their status update pages with yet another gem they must listen to that I've just heard via 6music. The DJ's are irreverant, intelligent and clearly love the music they play. Here they are allowed to be as geeky as they want, encouraging their listeners to do the same, creative a music nerd safe-haven. They also tap into the stunning BBC archives to play long forgotten Peel sessions and a variety of music royalty live sets. Particular favourite DJ's are Adam & Joe (of coursee, Tom Robinson's eclectic ear, new boy Jarvis Cocker (a perfect mix of music and literature, tied together with a ribbon of Cocker wit), Huey Morgan (who, along with JC, turns Sunday into a joyous day full of interest rather than the grey day before the week starts again) and Lauren Laverne, keeping me company during the morning. To me, it's bliss.<br />
</li>
<li>I have a new guru and her name is Lynne Truss. If you haven't read any of her funny and informative books, may I urge you too. They won't take you long as the typeface is huge. Make sure you are sitting properly as you may develop a neck twinge with all the nodding in agreement as you read. She just speaks common sense and if more people read '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Talk-Hand-Lynne-Truss/dp/0007329075/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264075342&sr=8-3">Talk to the Hand</a>', perhaps we can all remember to be a tad more civil to each other, as a little consideration towards others really oils the wheels of our day to day world. However, do not do as I did and read '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Lynne-Truss/dp/0007329067/ref=pd_sim_b_2">Eats Shoots and Leaves</a>' at the same time as <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rabbit-Run-Penguin-Modern-Classics/dp/0141187832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264075578&sr=1-1">John Updike</a>: it took all my strength not to start adding commas, apostrophes and colons of every flavour to his book.</li>
<li>Finally, baking. These biccies remind me of the ones my old school cooks' would occasionally treat us to, instead of the uninspiring jelly whip or tedious selection of starchy yogurts for most days Dpuddings. These biccies are both crunchy and chewy, with a delicious gingery, toffee flavour (courtesy of the Golden Syrup) Here, size matters: you won't achieve the same amount of comfort nostalgia with a small packet-sized biscuit. The recipe comes courtesy of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dinner-Lady-Jeanette-Orrey/dp/0593054296/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264079653&sr=8-1">Jeanette Orrey</a>, the woman who inspired Jamie Oliver to help overhaul school lunch nutrition. I've omitted the chocolate from her recipe, but feel free to add 60g of chopped choc if you wish. The measurements are slightly different as I received a rather gorgeous set of scales for my birthday that measure in increments of 20g, making weighing 55g an impossibility. From my limited experience, I've found that baking is down to ratios: alter all weights in the same way and you should be ok. <br />
</li>
</ul><b>School biccies.</b><br />
(makes 8) <b><br />
</b><br />
180g plain flour<br />
1 teaspoon baking powder<br />
60g oats<br />
120g butter (or marg)<br />
120g demerera sugar (or caster, light brown or a mix)<br />
1 heaped tablespoon golden syrup<br />
drop or two of milk <br />
<br />
<ul><li>preheat the oven to 180oC / 350oF / Gas Mark 4</li>
<li>line two large baking trays with baking paper or the non-stick parchment-equivalent of your choice <br />
</li>
<li>mix together the flour, baking powder and oats in a big bowl</li>
<li>rub in the butter to create a breadcrumby melange</li>
<li>add the sugar (and choc if using) and golden syrup and stir to create a stiff dough. You may need to add a drop or two (or three) of milk to bind it all together.</li>
<li>divide the dough into eight equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball, place on baking sheet and flatten sensitively with your hand, allowing room for the biccie to grow.</li>
<li>bake for 20-25 mins until pale brown and cracked of surface (they should look like mahoosive gingernuts)</li>
<li>allow to cool on the sheets before transferring to cooling racks</li>
<li>enjoy with tea and the knowledge that your school days are long behind you.</li>
</ul>What are your favourite things at the mo? <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>PS: I'm having a <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/yumptatious">clearance sale</a>!!! Please come by and pick up a bargain before I hire a flame thrower and destroy the lot in a hormonal frenzy.</b></i></span><br />
</div><ul></ul>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-76563723249390695852009-12-04T21:39:00.001+00:002009-12-04T21:41:32.817+00:00Just a reminder......that I have a <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/yumptatious">poor, neglected Etsy shop</a>, which, if memory serves, is the reason this blog came into being in the first place. If you've been here before, you'll know that my skills of marketing and self-promotion are possibly the antithesis of a certain <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/cartoon/2009/jun/25/katie-price-caricature">Miss Price</a>. However, economic necessity and burgeoning creative impetus require me to remind you that I have a delicious range of life-affirming gifts that will not only balance your chakras but put you in alignment with the whole damn universe*.<br />
My stock needs to go because:<br />
<ul><li>they are desperate for pastures new, feeling stifled in their sumptuous box. A box full of gorgeous stuff is useless if it's contents are not used, loved or even seen: I may as well fill it with packing peanuts and shove it under the bed. (ooh, I wonder if I could do that and sell it on Etsy? <i style="color: #999999;">strokes beard ponderously</i>)</li>
<li>we have to repair (or more accurately, replace) our leaking roof. This is another reason why I need to sell my stock: not only is a new roof stupid-expensive, we may need the box to catch rain water and it would be better if it was empty, although I'm sure in some dark, questionably-stenched cave of the t'interweb, there is a market for rain-soiled sock monkeys and the like. <i style="color: #999999;">shudders but doesn't totally dismiss the possibilities</i></li>
<li>I actually have some New Ideas (well, they're new to me - no doubt that once I have introduced them to the world, I will discover that I have extemporaneously plagiarised a favoured crafter, thereby consigning myself to Crafter's Hell - a cold, colourless place, bereft of forums, photos, tea and cake. Even Stephen Fry would hate me, and would encourage his Twitter army to 'go Jan Moir on her ass'.) and if I manage to keep the paranoid demons, and Stephen Fry**, at bay, it would be lovely to put them into a rejeuvenated shop - out with the old and in with the (hopefully not subconsciously ripped off) new.</li>
</ul>Quite frankly, there's nothing like a financial emergency to really help one focus on one's abandoned shop. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/yumptatious">Go and have a look</a> and buy something, dammit!<br />
<br />
Have you read the latest Xmas-tabulous edition of <a href="http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1jcj7/UKHandmadeWinter2009/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F108393%2FUK-Handmade-Winter-2009">UK Handmade magazine</a> yet? It's fresh off the...um...desktoppublisher thang and is just perfect, and not just because my book reviews are in there (p31-35). It has a fabulous cover featuring a beautiful wreath made by the uber talented <a href="http://halfanacreblog.blogspot.com/">Anna Hull</a> of <a href="http://halfanacre.co.uk/shop/">Half an Acre.</a> and is packed with useful, inspiring and entertaining gorgeousness. And, criminally, its free. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
Don't forget to check out the <a href="http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com/">UK Handmade blog</a> too: I've been writing the '<a href="http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com/search/label/lifestyle">Lifestyle</a>' page on Sundays, although it's more food (let's be honest here: cake.) than anything else. I like the idea of being a 'Lifestyle' writer, though I feel I should have a huge pashmina that I hide a tiny dog in and call everyone 'Dahhhhling!' and describe things as being 'De-viiine!' and never be seen out without bright red lips, a coiffured do, a dark mist of <a href="http://www.spacenk.co.uk/product/fragrance/for+her/mandragore+eau+de+toilette.do">Mandragore</a> and an air of superiority peppered with boredom. I won't ruin the illusion by telling you that I usually write it whilst snuggled in pyjamas, unaided by tiny, or any sized, dog.<br />
<br />
What are you up to tomorrow (Saturday)? Well, if you're not trying to feign enthusiasm about another z-list celebrity's <strike>autobankbalance</strike> autobiography whilst subtley trying to guide them to <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/rich+fulcher/tiny+acts+of+rebellion/6759721/">Rich Fulcher's offering</a>, you should be at Chelsea Town Hall for the fabulous festive <a href="http://wemakelondon.blogspot.com/">WeMake </a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGHyfJa8kJCpEpkEmCPAl6zSkcy1oggDLp3KNGlXCEksRyAWGx9dNyC5siAet7QVrHmFBy8ngeDPaY9gQoECAFRqIC6XsGsELpHWi7o18lZ2xXZSUhbw-_7fPMgatlKRkZ5Ka5gf_wgM/s1600-h/3970923031_bf53c44396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGHyfJa8kJCpEpkEmCPAl6zSkcy1oggDLp3KNGlXCEksRyAWGx9dNyC5siAet7QVrHmFBy8ngeDPaY9gQoECAFRqIC6XsGsELpHWi7o18lZ2xXZSUhbw-_7fPMgatlKRkZ5Ka5gf_wgM/s320/3970923031_bf53c44396.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
I am jealous as hell, but it is a warm, vanilla-scented jealousy as I love them to bits. Go along and pick up some beautiful treasures from a very talented bunch and give them all a kiss from me.<br />
If you're nearer Cambridge, get thee to Handm@de. Read all about it <a href="http://handmadecambridge.blogspot.com/">here</a>. If you really love craft and wanted to support these fabulous people, you could attempt to go to both in a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Aid">Phil Collins-does-Live-Aid</a> kinda way. (well, you could have done had they not scrapped Concorde..)<br />
<br />
Have a wonderful, expensive weekend!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
*<i>not scientifically proven. Model wears lash inserts.</i><br />
** <i>I love Stephen Fry, by the way, particularly for this:</i><br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Soupy Twist!<br />
</div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-78815553600393913392009-11-13T22:36:00.000+00:002009-11-13T22:36:17.892+00:00Dahl-ling breadI am trying very hard at the moment to temper my cookery book purchasing, in particular books on baking. I have discovered that a lot of the more celebrity-type chefs have a tendency towards repeating their recipes, justifying their inclusion in yet another perfectly produced more-style-than-food, '<i>buy this and you can live like me, and my life is FABULOUS!</i>' book simply by altering the amount of vanilla, or swapping the flour or changing the icing to a frosting. With that in mind, and considering the hefty price tag on a lot of titles, it's worth remembering your trusty local library. I find it's a great way to try out a book for free: this works for crafting books as well. It is often easy to be seduced into thinking that you absolutely, positively have to have that book, but it is better to spend your hard earned cash on something that you'll have use for for years to come. Also, you need to save your cash in order to buy the ingredients / yarn / gluegun / studio as suggested in your newly-acquired piece of inspiration.<br />
<br />
One of the books I'd seen at work, but wasn't sure I agreed with, was Sophie Dahl's book, '<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/sophie+dahl/miss+dahl27s+voluptuous+delights/6218888/">Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights: The Art of Eating a Little of What You Fancy</a>'. The reason I didn't 'agree' with it was down to cookery / lifestyle book saturation: there is a growing trend for cookbooks to be just as much about the author as the food. I'm sure she wasn't the first, but Tessa Kiros, with her glorious '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/tessa+kiros/falling+cloudberries/6517313/">Falling Cloudberries</a>', with its mix of biography, family history, culture, tradition</span><span style="font-size: small;"> and food,</span><span style="font-size: small;"> possibly inspired others to follow, (and of course dear ol' Nigella can't resist a lustful pout over a robust dish of freshly-concocted edible sex between her recipes, despite her first and utterly fabulous book, '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/nigella+lawson/how+to+eat/5436931/">How to Eat</a>' being completely devoid of any author posturing, aside from the 'I'm actually a serious writer but I can cook too' one on the inner cover.) As with any good idea, a raft of similar titles have followed, to the point of olive oil-based marination, hence me giving Miss Dahl's perfectly beautiful, perfectly stylish book a wide berth. That was until I came across a surprise copy at my local library...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">It is indeed a beautiful book, with 101 recipes handily divided by the seasons and then again into breakfasts, lunches and suppers. Each season is heralded with autobiography, illustrating the author's emotional link, love and respect of food. She talks candidly about the weight gain that led to her initial fame (as a model with, shock horror! Squidgy-bits-like-what-real-women-have! She was all of a size 14 at her largest...) and then how she lost weight, (by the way, this isn't a diet book, as I clearly wouldn't have bothered with it) and also morsels about her life growing up, travelling and working. She has an lovely relaxed style, the type of prose you fall into, and of course having an interesting life so far helps too. As for the recipes, accompanied by calm, almost rustic photos, they are simple, practical and look positively eatable, a trait you would assume was a given in a cookery book but sadly isn't necessarily. A particular favourite that I've made a few times now (with the book a good distance away so as not to become soiled by my exuberant baking activities) is what we call in this house 'Jamie Cullum Bread', but Miss Dahl calls 'Musician's breakfast (home-made bread with Parma Ham). For the uninitiated amongst you, Sophie Dahl's 'beloved' is <a href="http://www.myspace.com/jamiecullum">Jamie Cullum</a> and, according to the recipe, </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>'This, a strong cup of tea and Miles Davis on the stereo makes him a very happy fellow of a morning.'</i></b></span><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had a flash of Domestic Goddessy Madness the other morning and went all 'lifestyle' myself by making my own Jamie Cullum bread whilst the rest of the family got up properly, that is, shuffling through the morning ritual of wee, tea then food (and not in joined up writing: mornings are strictly printed in this house: we are not a morning family) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Sadly, it wasn't ready before they all left the house, but I somehow managed not to snaffle down the whole loaf, leaving them some for their return. Yes, that is how much I love them.*dabs at tear with corner of pinny*</span><span style="font-size: small;"> <br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGjbKfbeIJ6sWSCyVKoC1Oi69JgQgcsyUETjRZ3j3GyQGQyOOSPeFdXo9SpFcNgiAwIOxSbdKgrYMq8EUszECyvd5EVPg3pFjdJMO3Bkp7vGrfo43Y_2ao3gXHIn5nE3APlA_mTo5TIE/s1600-h/breakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGjbKfbeIJ6sWSCyVKoC1Oi69JgQgcsyUETjRZ3j3GyQGQyOOSPeFdXo9SpFcNgiAwIOxSbdKgrYMq8EUszECyvd5EVPg3pFjdJMO3Bkp7vGrfo43Y_2ao3gXHIn5nE3APlA_mTo5TIE/s320/breakfast.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>'This, a pint cup of coffee and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/">6Music on the stereo</a> makes me a very happy fellow of a morning.'</i></b></span><br />
</div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">As much as I love this bread, I fancied something with a bit more texture, so when I made a loaf today (out of hunger and the need to create: when all the tastiest things are born), I added a variety of seeds. Not only had I managed to gild the lily, I also made it healthier too, though its health benefits are possibly undone by my 'voluptuous' portions. So here is my recipe, based on Miss Dahl's. Give it a go, with or without the seeds, and do check out her book too - I have it on my wishlist as I suppose I should stop renewing this copy...<br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Who(l)em(eal)y seedy beeyatch, yo.*</b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">450g wholemeal flour (either normal or bread flour: both work)</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">100g oats</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">packet of fast-action dried yeast</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 tsp salt (I used Maldon)</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">25g hemp seeds</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">50g sunflower seeds</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">50g pumpkin seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">600ml warm (not hot) water</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">1 tbsp sunflower oil</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 tbsp clear honey</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
</div><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, nay <a href="http://www.plasticboxshop.co.uk/small-15lt-flexi-trug-sorry-out-of-stock-269-p.asp">flexi trug</a> should the whim take you (damn they're such a versatile beast!)</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">In a large jug, mix together the water, oil and honey.</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Add wet to the dry and stir thoroughly.</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Look at the porridgey gloop and think to yourself, 'How the hell am I going to knead that gelatinous blob?!'</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Exclaim 'Ahhhh!' when you read: '<b>This bread does not need kneading</b>.'</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and place somewhere warm and out of the way (i.e. next to a sleeping relative answers only half of the problem, so don't put it there.) for about 20, 30, heck, perhaps as much as 40 minutes, until the dough has doubled in size (hence the need for the large bowl. You see?! It's all in the planning!)</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Preheat the oven to 190oC / 170oF.<br />
</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Once risen, do not mark the occassion by bastardising a Pagan tradition and eating your bodyweight in chocolate, but merely beat it back down to size with a wooden spoon.</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Oil a loaf tin and pour the subjugated dough within its oily confines.</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Pop in the oven and bake for 50-60 mins.</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Allow to cool in the tin before turning it out and anointing each slice with a hearty slather of what you fancy.<br />
</span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJW2s9hNDOzLAme76XvBcg0kjsdFdzdr4V_GFu8_PuyTZNGLzhoO4CLnlQFI-6vnu58LvcMkXp1Hoach8gDa_GjvFZQcLFlWpBZe5F19hAbi8OOA0JPQvcTiaPMLouweVDKLM1V_-bbeg/s1600-h/buttered+seedy+beeyatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJW2s9hNDOzLAme76XvBcg0kjsdFdzdr4V_GFu8_PuyTZNGLzhoO4CLnlQFI-6vnu58LvcMkXp1Hoach8gDa_GjvFZQcLFlWpBZe5F19hAbi8OOA0JPQvcTiaPMLouweVDKLM1V_-bbeg/s320/buttered+seedy+beeyatch.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My slather of choice is butter.<br />
</span><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">*there is a loaf we often buy called a 'seeded batch' that we call a 'seedy beeyatch'. </span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">I guess you had to be there...<b> </b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>**</b>Mum: I'm working on my punctuation: <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/lynne+truss/eats2c+shoots+and+leaves/6819370/">look what book</a> I got last weekend!(though clearly I haven't read it yet...) <br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
</div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-77981946290532963402009-10-20T01:13:00.001+01:002009-10-20T09:21:54.388+01:00From Pixies to (knit and) Purl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidS-ZKq9y57ca35i3Npy3liqfddyESILjWjXl06hbrrtE5cD2pD1nNYzTpiKtWildabZNzJrkwTVRjHsyuPMwBbnwPT__VCpS1pH5itCU1GWu1F2YoRx6gdZq4CRtaS_pMoyK5Wp3fGUI/s1600-h/got+me+a+movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidS-ZKq9y57ca35i3Npy3liqfddyESILjWjXl06hbrrtE5cD2pD1nNYzTpiKtWildabZNzJrkwTVRjHsyuPMwBbnwPT__VCpS1pH5itCU1GWu1F2YoRx6gdZq4CRtaS_pMoyK5Wp3fGUI/s320/got+me+a+movie.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(no eyeballs, or badges, were harmed in the making of this blog)</i><br />
</div><br />
A couple of weeks ago, my wish for a more Carpe Diem attitude landed in my lap (well, Mr yumps) in the shape of two much-wanted-but-unable-to-attend tickets for an anniversary gig the next night, celebrating one of the finest albums known to my ears and the enlightened few. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/pixies">Pixies</a> took up a four day residency at the glorious <a href="http://www.o2academybrixton.co.uk/Info/About">Brixton Academy</a> (the perfect size in which to witness the miracle of Good Live Music) to play, in sequential order as God (Black Francis) intended, '<a href="http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/151135/Doolittle/Product.html">Doolittle</a>', their second studio album (apparently, '<a href="http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/162173/Surfer-Rosa-Come-On-Pilgrim/Product.html">Come on Pilgrim</a>' was an EP, now tagged onto the kick ay-yass 'Surfer Rosa') They sandwiched this delight in between b-sides that I had never heard before, thereby rendering it a musical education of wonderment rather than witless nostalgia, and tracks from both 'CoP' and 'SR', though, sadly for our night at least, not '<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRbtRw9vw_I">Gigantic</a>'. It was a fabulous gig: pre-band banter centered on tales of Pixies gigs past, shared around like toffee bonbons, and I wondered if this wasn't the first time so many of us had shared a gig together, that perhaps they too had seen them play back in 1990 one hot Saturday night in a sweaty field in Reading. I had practiced the line, just in case I met anyone that had been there, 'Oh I thought you looked familiar!' I got to use it 5 times: result!<br />
It's always tricky when you go to see a band that previously performed your all-time favourite gig, because you <i>know</i> that they cannot live up to that impossible expectation. Surely it isn't possible to feel that same sense of excitement and belonging and sheer thrill from a band at 37 as you did when you saw them at 18: poppycock - it is! There was one moment, I can't remember which song they were playing, where I closed my eyes to completely lose myself in the sound, and I suddenly remembered standing at the Reading festival, my hair longer and naturally dark, my girth 2 stone lighter, listening to the exact same song, with the same feeling of perfect joy and the same loopy smile on my face: two perfect moments of identical bliss, separated by 19 years. I opened my eyes and realised that this definitely wasn't about nostalgia: Pixies were, and still are, a phenomenal live band. Plus, their bass player is a Goddess, not a token bimbo eye candy, strategically placed to please the company execs. She is gorgeous, mind.<br />
Hearing them live made me notice things I can't believe I'd never noticed before, in particular what a marvellously tight, crisp drummer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lovering">David Lovering</a> is! It made me go back and listen to all their albums, which is never time wasted.<br />
To be honest, I don't really know much about the Pixies themselves: it's all about the music, not the image, not the gossip. However, they did put on a visual feast too, playing '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_chien_andalou">Un Chien Andalou</a>' before they came on stage, then using the small, multiple screens differently for different songs, my favourite being them all smiling and singing along to 'Here Comes your Man' (you'll have to imagine them playing underneath in the glow)<br />
<br />
<object height="295" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xsJUX2jCG_0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xsJUX2jCG_0&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Which leads me neatly (:-/) onto the <a href="http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com/">UK Handmade blog</a>...<br />
I've been writing the '<a href="http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com/search/label/lifestyle">Lifestyle</a>' section, although at present, its purely about food. If you hanker for some simple yet delicious morsels, chow down, but make sure you play the Godfathers (and Godmother) of Grunge damn loudly as you bake as this will help your cakes rise more evenly. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZEygtO85hk2LsNY9236cNvAzZziahnwdubDWQJn_kmknK7ZJKRL74F6G1BcY43ti-E0pJ5y__o7iWNK8GWXzYWBhyphenhyphenEJhxQcPolCfF6OECjGBrwAH3wRcNkOYryPcbYf2z-3vTaKzNVQ/s1600-h/apple+walnut+spiced+muffin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZEygtO85hk2LsNY9236cNvAzZziahnwdubDWQJn_kmknK7ZJKRL74F6G1BcY43ti-E0pJ5y__o7iWNK8GWXzYWBhyphenhyphenEJhxQcPolCfF6OECjGBrwAH3wRcNkOYryPcbYf2z-3vTaKzNVQ/s320/apple+walnut+spiced+muffin.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now this blatant food / craft pornography (from my last UK Handmade blog post) not only illustrates spiced apple and walnut muffins but the beginnings of my current obsession. Now no-one warned me that knitting is actually a drug: nowt to do with chemicals in the yarns or the sensual feel of the bamboo needles (or not...) but there's something about each row - "I'll just finish this row and then I'll make dinner / call my Mum / wake the gimp", but, haha! You can't just finish that row! "Oh, while I'm here, I might as well do the next row..." But you can't stop: "Oh...I don't like to finish with a knit row: I'll finish the next purl and then crack on." "Or perhaps I prefer to end on a knit row..." etc etc. It's not as if I'm a fast knitter, particularly as this is my first foray into the Land of Not Massive Needles. I feel like a giant drumming with toothpicks. Anyhoot, I'm having a go at knitting some fingerless gloves from this <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/ros+badger/elspeth+thompson/homemade/6545345/">pornography</a>. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ok, I gaffataped knitting onto a blog about music: surely there is no neat way of ending this post in a cohesive manner that effortlessly ties all the loose ends together? Haha! Oh yea of little faith! Behold:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/may/03/breeders-interview-pixies-kim-deal">Kim Deal's twin sister</a> (and lead guitarist in their band, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_l4ZOVJ-ts">The Breeders</a>) Kelley likes to knit. She's even written a rather fabulous <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/kelley+deal/bags+that+rock/6487831/">book</a>.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And thus, the circle is complete.<br />
</div><br />
<br />
<a href="http://addthis.com/"><br />
</a>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-12601028480919943622009-10-05T22:24:00.001+01:002009-10-05T22:28:19.957+01:00A slice of domestic tediumPlease, someone tell me: who the feck chained me to the kitchen sink?! Did some misogynistic ninja, for whom feminism is the real definition of the 'F' word, sneakily do it whilst I innocently made a cup of tea? I don't know when it happened, but it has and I'm not happy.<br />
<br />
There is a point when washing up ceases to be fun and it is at the precise moment when the last morsel is swallowed down and the purveyor of said swallow declares themselves 'Stuffed'. When the meal ends, when all that is left is to praise the chef and request tea or coffee, that's when washing up ceases to be fun. It's not so much the act of washing up that bother's me, more the never ending predictability of it. The knowledge that as soon as it is finished, more will be on it's way, and possibly within the hour. And it's not like other forms of domestic tedium: it's quite startling just how much dust one can live comfortably with without needing anti-parasitic creams, and unvacuumed floors can be strategically ignored just by keeping shoes on whilst in the house (or by utilising stilts in extreme cases). But unless you are rich enough to either have all your meals out, or laugh in the face of environmental apocalypse by using, and throwing away, paper plates (or you are rich enough to throw a complete dinner service away after each meal: oh how very Greek Tourist Trap of you), you will need to wash up. I have heard people make mention of getting the children to do the washing up: "They love it!" they will cry, "Kids love playing with water!" and that's the problem: plates and pans do not get clean by lil' Bobby playing 'Das Boot' with a pint bottle. (Do kids play 'Das Boot'? They should.)<br />
<br />
And I know what you're all thinking: "Get a dishwasher!" Well, apart from the logistics (i.e. we'd have to dangle it from the ceiling, space, or rather lack of, being of prime concern in Casa yumptatious), I suspect that the drudgery would remain: it would still need to be loaded, it would still need to be emptied. It would still need a periodic cleaning with some highly toxic and nasal-hair-singeing ablution. Just as washing machines have taken away the need for 'Wash day' by eradicating the need for excessive handwashing, it is still depressingly inevitable that a wash needs to be put on. Machines don't erase the problem, they just give it a different shape.<br />
<br />
Having said all that, there is a certain satisfaction when the job is done, a feeling akin, I would imagine, to the one felt by someone burying the man they've just killed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoIPtkJq2wJ1-r5Yo_sArNTp_PM-n7wJDk-WOFVtr6qbwZXEkr7RBOmex2m76tHAJi8-lABuGhDQ0bxm7OKi-YmfTiNklq9YT3XT72tqw1DZDeBt2mryoLLGgyxO8ssT0i3ZKLwJxmRAg/s1600-h/job+done.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoIPtkJq2wJ1-r5Yo_sArNTp_PM-n7wJDk-WOFVtr6qbwZXEkr7RBOmex2m76tHAJi8-lABuGhDQ0bxm7OKi-YmfTiNklq9YT3XT72tqw1DZDeBt2mryoLLGgyxO8ssT0i3ZKLwJxmRAg/s320/job+done.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">It's your turn to dry.<br />
</div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-9923175104436554262009-09-28T00:26:00.000+01:002009-09-28T00:26:23.631+01:00Varium et mutabile semper femina*I stomped off into town this afternoon, carrying a hormonal cloud of rage, unreasoneableness and general 'don't come near me'-ness, despite the cheery hot and lazily low-slung sun, the delicious warmth accompanied by a gentle cool breeze (just to remind us that it is, after all, Autumn) as I had to get out of the house and pick up a couple of meaningless things, oh and chocolate, which could and should never be seen as pointless.<br />
Anyhoots, whilst angrily skipping the load of crap my iPod in it's wisdom had decided I should listen to, I passed a local bookshop. Now this bookshop has fallen on hard times, which is a real shame because (she whispers so as not to upset her bosses) we need our bookshops, particularly our free-thinking independents. Certain elements were always a bit ramshackle, but that was part of its charm. It was pretty astounding the variety that they managed to shoehorn into such a small space. I never minded hunting for books in that place, but frequently had to bite my tongue when I couldn't find books that I personally deemed as 'classics'. (you would have thought, as a fellow bookseller, I'd have been more patient: Hell no!) Now, however, it is a shop preparing to die and getting its' affairs in order. The last pieces of stock are now alongside out of print/ end of stock items, uncorrected proofs, creased and yellow around the edges and an incredibly eclectic collection of second hand books. Despite this seemingly depressing end, what they have actually created is an amazing haven of the printed word. The sections still remain so its easy to rummage, but it is completely anti-ageist: brand new books sharing the same selling space as old duffers from the turn of the last century. And I found some gems that dispelled my foul mood quicker than you can say 'I really should start taking Evening Primrose again.' Look!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QZHtgjgYl2rBegCcc4U1vcTm6RK8MX-04kGUtSgfQz9Qa9tfL4wd2GNIF987PUO6LT7mJzbC3h5MHA_PU9sHxjruTILlxsLnWDXt4qWoLgasGVJbJhmGF9SLRSPmlp2zz9f46SXzsxA/s1600-h/how+to+cheer+a+grumpy+beeyatch+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QZHtgjgYl2rBegCcc4U1vcTm6RK8MX-04kGUtSgfQz9Qa9tfL4wd2GNIF987PUO6LT7mJzbC3h5MHA_PU9sHxjruTILlxsLnWDXt4qWoLgasGVJbJhmGF9SLRSPmlp2zz9f46SXzsxA/s320/how+to+cheer+a+grumpy+beeyatch+up.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>from left to right:</i> Julia Cameron, '<b>The Right to Write</b>' (publ: , Ronald Searle '<b>Back to the Slaughterhouse</b>' (1951), '<b>Roget's Pocket Thesaurus</b>' (1946, US ed) <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">'<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=3821856">The Right to Write</a>' is a book by the author of '<a href="http://www.theartistsway.com/">The Artist's Way</a>', Julia Cameron, and according to the blurb, is about 'using writing to bring clarity and passion to the act of living.' Hmmm, sounds good - I like her thinking. I also liked the fact that it's broken up into teeny chapters that may help my easily-distracted brain to focus. I also loved this exercise, where the reader needs to list 50 things that they're proud of, and that in her example, 'My rapport with dogs' came higher than 'My relationship with my mother', although 'My pie crust' was an ever prouder moment! Genius! I may share my 50 things with you once I know you a little better.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next up is actually the first book that I found today. Some of you may remember that I've mentioned <a href="http://www.ronaldsearle.co.uk/">Ronald Searle</a> before and therefore know that I think he is utterly tremendous. (and it's not just me that thinks as thus: <a href="http://ronaldsearle.blogspot.com/">looky!</a>) Perhaps with that knowledge elbamed in your brain, you may have an idea of the joy that was beholden to me when I saw, faced out on the second set of shelves, this:<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6V0LVmwy_pJrgNQ6SCvyR6WqhtOtk90n-8jYiOc3rIxRt2tYt7kBk7DUwBKfZtAX_-nHvwHECFKeF_nxbrv5xdYD8W4CkVctzqfX4g6mTt8fj_0WE4HbC0SfORYs_uKZuGnItoypHf4/s1600-h/RS+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6V0LVmwy_pJrgNQ6SCvyR6WqhtOtk90n-8jYiOc3rIxRt2tYt7kBk7DUwBKfZtAX_-nHvwHECFKeF_nxbrv5xdYD8W4CkVctzqfX4g6mTt8fj_0WE4HbC0SfORYs_uKZuGnItoypHf4/s320/RS+front.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You can find a selection of the pages <a href="http://www.kinglybooks.com/searle08.htm">here</a>. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Its a wonderful book, containing enough pictures that I hadn't seen before to make it worth me popping in the shop in the first place.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I loved the back too, with a rather wonderful self-portrait:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4EcJ3lxWBNvJmpEsVeD3vI_ZiY2FWfxIegjmA67PJxhTLqGVE2UJyBxh3bXSdJjNlX_koIZZcTk8PUcAtQ2jgC0KQBbJE8Ky9dqc5sQugcu9hpTkhe5HGn1tkE5BVJToaO08mcrhU2s/s1600-h/R+Searle+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4EcJ3lxWBNvJmpEsVeD3vI_ZiY2FWfxIegjmA67PJxhTLqGVE2UJyBxh3bXSdJjNlX_koIZZcTk8PUcAtQ2jgC0KQBbJE8Ky9dqc5sQugcu9hpTkhe5HGn1tkE5BVJToaO08mcrhU2s/s320/R+Searle+back.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And lo: how fab is it without its dustjacket! <br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUNTgK87PQNhfobnsMmORYEdGQDMOPOswWVsUxgNQV9lbEfzSlmI3tJw-KVYy6nV-nFeDK-0NIxx7q38EHw7p-xNyhE0aNgUnKE6Uxf3rHsg64BGVA-3U13r0NF9dRZeGx2M1JqYIaaY/s1600-h/inside+the+flyleaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJUNTgK87PQNhfobnsMmORYEdGQDMOPOswWVsUxgNQV9lbEfzSlmI3tJw-KVYy6nV-nFeDK-0NIxx7q38EHw7p-xNyhE0aNgUnKE6Uxf3rHsg64BGVA-3U13r0NF9dRZeGx2M1JqYIaaY/s320/inside+the+flyleaf.jpg" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Gotta love a gymslip!</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I've recently been meaning to find a small thesaurus to pop in my bag, for those times when I just can't find either the right, or at least vaguely more interesting word. The God of the Bookshop heeded my call and sent, all the way from the U.S, and the distant past, a beautiful (beauteous, handsome; pretty: lovely, graceful, elegant, exquisite, delicate, dainty) Roget's Thesaurus (lexicon, glossary, vocabulary, wordbook: bored yet?! I can keep this up for hours!) As it's from the US, I'll have to keep an eye on the spelling (orthography) but other than that, I think it'll prove to be quite an inspiration (stir up, infuse life into, quicken, sharpen, revive) Besides all that, I think in this instance, it is only right that I should judge a book by its' cover and the perfectly preserved endpapers:<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>593. BOOK.</b>- <i>N.</i> <b>book,</b> booklet; writing, work, volume, tome, tract, treatise, brochure......<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I also found, but didn't buy, a book on living in Hampstead from the 50's, worth it for the line on the cover saying that the book would be suitable in a guest room or coffee table (or was it 'occasional' table? Or bedside table?) I think more books should give suggestions as to where they would best be stored: "Keep in the fridge during breaks between reading", "Must not be read on an infant's swing", "Warning: will explode if exposed to synthetic upholstery" etc.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">May you derive as much hormonal-balancing pleasure from your books as I have!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*Varium et mutabile semper femina - according to my new / old thesaurus, it means 'Woman is ever a changeful and capricious thing.' Amen.<br />
</div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-72874199316700959982009-09-23T00:00:00.001+01:002009-09-23T00:01:17.128+01:00A ponder on clothes<a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15415918899864973389" rel="nofollow">That Crafty Fish!</a> said... <i style="color: #cc0000; font-family: inherit;"><b>I demand that you take photos of lots of your most colourful clothing / outfits in a 'teen style' wardrobe ramraid and talk about how great clothes are....</b></i><br />
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Ok, but let me just start by saying that I would never regard myself as any kind of style guru. My 'look', if you could name it so, is based on an inherent fear of beige, and the need to blend in and disappear that I personally associate with such an insipid hue. It is a shade that screams, or whispers or rather mutters under its breath "Please do not look at me. I do not wish to offend you by seeming to actually be happy with myself." Beige is often termed as 'neutral'- it sits mawkishly on the fence, comfy in its middle ground, eager to not displease anyone.<br />
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My own haphazard sense of 'style' is a look born out of necessity (that is, to stay warm, to not be naked and to not let people know that my underwear doesn't match) (oops) and limited funds. This, coupled with an inane hatred of clothes shopping, means that my 'wardrobe' is pretty interchangeable. I do not have a winter and summer wardrobe: winter is the same as summer, just with more layers. I love Ebay, if only for the scroll down menus that are so less humiliating than wading through a rail of clothes looking for the hallowed size 16. Its got to the point now that if I should ever find myself in <a href="http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?storeId=12556&catalogId=19551">Topshop</a>, and I happen upon an outsize (ha!) garment, I will purchase the fecker on principle. Luckily, for my bank account, this doesn't happen often. There's a lot of layering going on, with contrasting colours and patterns. I have learnt to never buy lambswool (I always shrink it) and that you can often wash dry-clean only clothes. I'm all about the comfort, baby, but even I know never to buy anything with an elasticated waist unless you are pregnant. I know that I am safe with <a href="http://www.monsoon.co.uk/">Monsoon</a> jeans and that I'm bound to find something wonderful, that fits, in Debenhams (their website has a fab feature where you can search for <a href="http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category_10001_10001_98128_-1">clothes by size</a>: saves soooo much time and disappointment.) M+S is always a disappointment, but I have faith and so keep checking. <br />
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And then, of course, there is Etsy. I currently need <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30625396">this dress</a> (actually, can I have all of <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=98249">Pamela Tang</a>'s womenswear range please?), with <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30913106">this top</a> underneath (by some bird I may have mentioned a few times, but seeing as she's a bit stingy with the royalty cheques, I shan't this time :-P ) and <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17719617">this hat</a> (from that Empress of Yarn, <a href="http://www.dollyknits.blogspot.com/">dollyknits</a>) if its a bit perky-nips out. Socks would come from <a href="http://www.sockdreams.com/_shop/pages/socks_all.php">Sock Dreams</a>, of course (or one of those sellers on Ebay that sells 15 pairs of stripey socks for £10.)<br />
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Life is short and we should have fun with the way we look. <a href="http://www.viviennewestwood.com/flash.php">Dame Vivienne Westwood</a> is credited as saying 'When in doubt, overdress.' Now, whilst I haven't yet achieved her level of bravada with attire, I aspire to it (clearly in a very beige way.) and I don't keep any items for 'best', preferring to mix different clothes in order to convey the depth of importance of the event. I find it hard to leave something plain: I am a keen proponent of a well-placed badge or brooch. (particular favourites are <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23358654">summersville fabric badges</a>, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25345911">paperfish</a> and, without the merest hint of arrogance, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19434413">my own</a>!) I do think that I dress, to coin Crafty Fish, if not like a 'teenage ramraid', then certainly as '30-something ramraid who'll wear what she damn well pleases', which is quite similar, just with nicer fabrics and better posture. I certainly dress for comfort to the point that, when I do make 'an effort' (translation: I wear a dress, without trousers underneath, with heels and tights instead of stripey socks.) I am seranaded with a chorus of 'You scrub up well!', a phrase that has me scuttling back to my Birkies / Docs / Crocs (ahhh, bite me!) quicker than you can say 'mahoosive support knickers'.<br />
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Now I don't feel original and stylish enough to really dispense sartorial advice to you, but this is one of my favourite divine sources of inspiration.<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=991">The Black Apple</a> may be the Blessed Mother Mary of Etsy, but this is where it's at! I deeply love <a href="http://theblackapple.typepad.com/somegirlswander/">this girl's style</a>.<br />
Also worth a look is, of course, <a href="http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/">The Satorialist</a>, showing time and time again that it's not <i>what</i> you wear, its <i>how</i> you wear it.<br />
If I were braver, I would dress <a href="http://www.harajukustyle.net/">like this</a>, or, braver still, <a href="http://www.immodestyblaize.com/">this</a>, although I think the nipple tassels may contravene many health & safety regulations.<br />
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So, in answer to Kirsty's original brief, clothes can be great, wonderful, life-enhancing, mood-altering, warming, enticing, repelling wonders of fabric cacophony. If they're not, mix them up until they are. Like any good cake, the ingredients are often better chucked together than on their own (although let that metaphor end there: I don't want to be held responsible for the agony self-inflicted by you lot, setting your outfit in a 200oc oven for 20 mins)<br />
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What are you wearing today?<br />
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(by the way, you need to read <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Way-We-Wore-Life-Threads/dp/033042033X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253657286&sr=8-1">this book</a>. I know it's about men's fashion, but it is is utterly wonderful, as I have mentioned before. What do you mean you haven't read it yet?!)yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-32637164379805422972009-09-15T21:05:00.005+01:002009-09-28T00:48:29.706+01:00Sporadic book adorationJust wanted to pop in to tell you about some of the books that have grabbed my attention, made it tea and found a comfy chair (with optional snuggly blanket drapage) I think the only similarities between them are that they are printed onto paper and that you need to use your eyes to decipher the meanings therein, such is the erraticism of my tastes.<br />
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<ul><li>Firstly, a collection of three autobiographies by the late jazzman / raconteur / writer / bon viveur, George Melly, '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5539310">Owning Up</a>'. I adored this trilogy, which features his first three autobiographies in chronological (rather than published) order: Scouse Mouse (pub 1984), Rum, Bum and Concertina (1977) and Owning Up (1965). His honesty (or, at least his skill for spinning a damn fine yarn) is certainly admirable and often breathtaking, and provides a snapshot of his life with a crisp, fresh clarity. Of all the books, I enjoyed 'Owning Up' the least, which is not to suggest that it was necessarily the weaker of the three, just that perhaps someone that appreciates Melly's particular milieu of jazz more than I would enjoy it even more.</li>
</ul>He has a delicious turn of phrase that I found delightful:<br />
<blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: inherit;">"It would be absurd not to admit to the obsessive spirit in my remembering so minutely the contents and decoration of an unremarkable terrace house some fifty years ago, but I have always tended to understand people initially through the objects they accumulate and the manner in which they display or conceal them."</i><br />
</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">What really struck me was the author's absolute lust for life, twinned with the ability to look back without regret, making this book both inspiring and thoroughly entertaining. I'm looking forward to reading the final instalment, '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5536815">Slowing Down</a>' to learn just how to milk every last drop from the flagon of life. Have a lil <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTdN6C589Og">Boogie Woogie</a> on his behalf!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>Next up, a wonderful debut from Jane Elmor, '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6102855">My Vintage Summer</a>'. This has two stories running alternately, one from the narrator's descent into teenage awakening and one from the present day, her life full of creature comforts but hollow inside. The two stories have as their central theme the adoration, worship and, ultimately, understanding of an older girl, Vonnie, and how Lizzie (the narrator) reacts to her defiant, magnetic prescence. Whilst the detail certainly evokes life in the late 70' / early 80's, it isn't a syrupy nostalgia fest, and explores themes of family, friendship, marriage and music with an understanding touch that will be familiar and illuminating at the same time. It made me think of the best bits of '<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1037218/">Flashbacks of a Fool</a>' in its attention to detail that seemed accurate rather than sepia-tinted longing, although I had far more empathy and warmth to the central character Lizzie than I did for Flashbacks' Joe Scott.I loved it and look forward to reading her <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6431034">most recent book</a>. (you might also enjoy <a href="http://www.writewords.org.uk/interviews/jane_elmor.asp">this interview</a>.)</li>
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</div><ul><li>From the Cor Blimey, to the sublime and now onto the, umm, well, something different. Now, buying a book on thrift may seem to be a non-sequitur, but often it can be a case of 'speculating to accumulate'. I'm not entirely convinced by <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6638387">India Knight's concept of 'Thrift'</a>, but, if you consider it as a companion to the wonderful, often unashamedly glam '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=4044675">The Shops</a>', you shouldn't be disappointed. 'The Thrift Book' has a lovely section celebrating the current craft revolution (that is sadly rumbling over my head like a giant wave at the mo, rather than me harnessing its energy and riding a body board whilst laughing like a deranged hyena, but that's a whole other story for a whole other time...), in particular Etsy and the joy therein. This book is less about how to live cheaply, basically and beautifully, and more about 'If you have to spend money, you might as while spend a bit more on something decent', an idea I agree with on principle, but sometimes you just don't have the choice and have to make the most of what you have. I think the section on 'Camping' made me realise, once more, that Ms Knight and I move in very different circles: she recommends a <a href="http://www.featherdownfarm.co.uk/">Feather Down Farms</a> holiday, I recommend you bag a tent of ebay (I recommend Outwell tents) or borrow one from a friend: we camped near Land's End, in the middle of August, for £16 a night for a family of four. That, my friend, is thrift. </li>
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</div><ul><li>Whilst on said thrifty holiday, I devoured the first in <a href="http://www.henningmankell.com/">Henning Mankell</a>'s 'Wallander' series, '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6344209">Faceless Killers</a>'. This is the first crime book and I loved it. Admittedly, I was eased in into them through my adoration of both the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1178618/">english</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0907702/">swedish</a> tv adaptations, and found that the books gave another dimension to an already interestingly complex character. Actually, is Kurt Wallander a complex character, or is he infact torn between duty to job and family, resulting in a man desperate to find a balance but failing miserably? I think he's a fascinating chararcter: you really feel for the poor sod, whilst simultaneously wishing he wasn't quite so his own worst enemy. But then, it wouldn't make such a delicious story. Wallander is called out to a horrific and seemingly motiveless murder whilst his private life is still in turmoil after a recent divorce. As layers are gradually peeled away, racism is revealed and Wallander must find the facts underneath the mask of fear. Its seemingly slowpace is misleading as, before you know it, you'll have read 10 pages without breathing. </li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I also loved my own juxtaposition, reading this dark, bleak tale set in wintry Sweden whilst sitting on a beautiful warm, sunny Cornish beach in the middle of August. There is a greyness that I find utterly absorbing and I can't wait to read the next book, '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6344210">The Dogs of Riga</a>'.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What are you reading?<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(ps: apologies for the bizarre layout: it wouldn't let me leave a space between books, thus creating a large bed of words that would have put me off, at least: Grrrr!) <br />
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</div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-33703547950845845662009-09-09T15:49:00.004+01:002009-09-10T18:09:31.795+01:00Self-imposed craft exile...Regular readers (although, that's an oxymoron as I do not provide enough waffle for you to digest on a regular basis: I'm only thinking of those waistlines...) may have noticed that I have been uncharacteristically quiet on all creative fronts: the <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5140310">shop</a> is still there but bereft of anything new, the blog has creaked to an emollient-free stop, and Flickr, once the place for wips, cakes and inspiration is saturated, regrettably, with my face, a self-portrait on a Thursday being my only creative outburst. Unfortunately, life has got in the way and yumptatious has taken second place to, at the moment, more important shenanigans. Last (school) year was an extremely hectic one and I am determined to redress the balance, but I need your help:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8FXFRhKxdKe6b9UT3epg_bAZSymJvYn7TzVuHHqk-JGXy7DznC6awV7c1OFU2F1wVL5VXBmGkrE8ur8kPOrWTUcYpfQWmJrvenSplNUMzDcd2Sk6idvdO9M3Mkfape6Scu28qzlBx8U/s1600-h/I+need+YOU%21.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379429428376103058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8FXFRhKxdKe6b9UT3epg_bAZSymJvYn7TzVuHHqk-JGXy7DznC6awV7c1OFU2F1wVL5VXBmGkrE8ur8kPOrWTUcYpfQWmJrvenSplNUMzDcd2Sk6idvdO9M3Mkfape6Scu28qzlBx8U/s320/I+need+YOU%21.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">I need YOU!!!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;">(apologies that the crazy world of foreshortening makes it look as if I am brandishing a stump where my forefinger should be: nice.)</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
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I need you to kick<span style="font-size: small;"> my butt, (in a creative, metaphorical sense only please: I've met a number of you and reckon that you could inflict serious damage if the need arose.) I need you to throw your creative briefs at me: tell me what to write about - be my e</span>ditor (I won't expect payment...yet) Would you like me to write a review (book, music, film, exhibition etc), re-write a recipe, show you how to make something, tell you a story, give my opinion on a chosen topic etc? I will then post the results over on my spanking new blog. I struggled for ages to come up with a suitable name, fearing what pondlife Google would send my way. Therefore, I have decided against:<br />
<ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Please kick me up the arse</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Give it to me (and make it hard as you like)</span></li>
</ul><ul style="font-style: italic;"><li>I need YOU to push me</li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Activate my creative juices</span></li>
</ul><ul><li>and, of course <span style="font-style: italic;">I need your briefs.</span></li>
</ul>I have gone for an 'exactly what it says on the tin' approach: behold <a href="http://yumptatiouswaffle.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">yumptatious waffle</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">!</span></span></a><br />
Just leave your suggestions over there and I'll get cracking.<br />
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In the meantime, a quickish precis of the last 9 months creativity:<br />
I've learnt to knit, and, in doing so, created probably my most popular picture on Flickr (21 extremely wise people have added it to their favourites)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5G3D1YUsWRN1vUhrXaSIKzHQ3r4ZhRL70CLD8gC7bhXgaWZBIGsZV6uPgafBsgqqztHgWjf-itNQJI1kCrsKklZalXv7n2JV8Lm4Y-K5MnQ3IR78swvRAapYF0LWX37fdJU0IdWC9Zk/s1600-h/SPT+290109+colour+madness.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333485776474090018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5G3D1YUsWRN1vUhrXaSIKzHQ3r4ZhRL70CLD8gC7bhXgaWZBIGsZV6uPgafBsgqqztHgWjf-itNQJI1kCrsKklZalXv7n2JV8Lm4Y-K5MnQ3IR78swvRAapYF0LWX37fdJU0IdWC9Zk/s320/SPT+290109+colour+madness.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 261px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
I bought some of the yarns seen here from <a href="http://www.texere.co.uk/index.html?PHPSESSID=c61ffc712946a2279ae255318b9fac76">Texere Yarns</a> up in Bradford, the place that I, and the other weavers, bought the yarns for their final projects from back in 1993, so I was thrilled that they are still going. (I wonder if present textile students at Nottingham still go there...)<br />
Ooh, speaking of my fellow weavers from back in the day, I recently got back in touch with an old chum of mine via Facebook, <a href="http://www.sarahallenweaving.co.uk/">Sarah Allen</a>, who happens to also have an <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6732820">Etsy shop</a>! Go and behold her beautiful cloth: she's damn talented and a purchase from her will increase your lifejoy tenfold.<br />
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I made a couple of skirts, one from <a href="http://clothkits.co.uk/">Clothkits</a> and one made from a sneaky template:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixwJhRT3I8u8oH50ZRFbfSL5MllZ_U0v3_yV3lFnPbobapZbbArNaUNJLvUjBp4NLoqG6vylZ8wIf8NlmxZMBwvyBXRwK6RfL7sSqeChyphenhyphenIef8BWmc_R__HLBXr1nKZCZbWtcF-TKaOFZw/s1600-h/mosaic879ee17dc6f323c0f63d729e06e228e1c6b989f9(2).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333514982116951602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixwJhRT3I8u8oH50ZRFbfSL5MllZ_U0v3_yV3lFnPbobapZbbArNaUNJLvUjBp4NLoqG6vylZ8wIf8NlmxZMBwvyBXRwK6RfL7sSqeChyphenhyphenIef8BWmc_R__HLBXr1nKZCZbWtcF-TKaOFZw/s320/mosaic879ee17dc6f323c0f63d729e06e228e1c6b989f9(2).jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 162px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>The one on the right is made from upholstery fabric I picked up from my local flea market for £2. Check out my sofa's jealous demeanour (and rightly so.)<br />
I heartily recommend Clothkits: the instructions are easy to follow and they provide everything: the lining, the zip, even the thread. The skirt I plumped for is designed by the wondrous <a href="http://rob-ryan.blogspot.com/">Rob Ryan</a> and comes in many tempting colourways.<br />
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I have, of course, been baking, thanks to <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6420607">this amazing book</a>. Every recipe is a winner, although I do think using a food processor does help with the lightness of the frosting. (if anyone would like to buy me a <a href="http://www.kitchenaid.co.uk/app.cnt/ka/en_GB/pageid/pgkaproddetail001/catid/7/subcatid/35">KitchenAid</a>, please feel free: I'm not proud.)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWA0mmovpmKnFGrJZES8-8d5X2bOe_QbRhMMMMOO8-8KWkVxa6OhX3Q6W_C172H92NXlIyjdZyXjGj4WCjxxnQH3hWJ28Q4aheDlbOIbQnZsZMjoh6ZrkKEf9xZTPneQs2inykQyVJGo/s1600-h/cupcake+porn2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379447651509283986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWA0mmovpmKnFGrJZES8-8d5X2bOe_QbRhMMMMOO8-8KWkVxa6OhX3Q6W_C172H92NXlIyjdZyXjGj4WCjxxnQH3hWJ28Q4aheDlbOIbQnZsZMjoh6ZrkKEf9xZTPneQs2inykQyVJGo/s320/cupcake+porn2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></a>Pornography, pure and simple.</div><br />
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Here are a few of my current favourite things:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_tbzIe01nsZb6Z9ZrZGsrjhtjDS2aDWoBdLuNng-b7HnR6Mfp1JP6wK-ERbU-ojUqjj3HoZiTer2ZS758mCYcIDGxwr6Q1r1uPWgS4u2yEk6TetJEJyhAc7dGJ6-aZDMssxPzbD8Tgw/s1600-h/a+few+of+my+favourite+things.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379429451229928834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_tbzIe01nsZb6Z9ZrZGsrjhtjDS2aDWoBdLuNng-b7HnR6Mfp1JP6wK-ERbU-ojUqjj3HoZiTer2ZS758mCYcIDGxwr6Q1r1uPWgS4u2yEk6TetJEJyhAc7dGJ6-aZDMssxPzbD8Tgw/s320/a+few+of+my+favourite+things.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 254px;" /></a><br />
clockwise from top left:<br />
<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5249599">my current read</a> and I recommend it whole-heartedly! Funny, honest, informative and inspiring in a cheese-free kinda way. I swear I put on weight with her as she ate her way around Italy (something I would love to do!)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ready-Weekend-Calvin-Harris/dp/B002GU62UE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1252499602&sr=8-1">I can't stop playing this album!</a> If you're a pedant, you'll be able to pick out all the 80's references, but that doesn't mean that this is yesterday's leftovers served up as retro. One of those album's that proves that decent dance music can have soul too. This brings me great joy!<br />
Whilst I do indeed love this whisky, it's pictured here more in honour of my latest addiction, '<a href="http://www.fxuk.com/series/the-wire">The Wire</a>'. If you haven't seen it, I can only hope that the God of Karma rectifies the situation and brings you the best thing you can set your eyes on (other than kittens, cake, oh and I guess your children) in the form of the dvd boxed set. And if you don't believe me, listen to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ2iGYwdEi8">Charlie Brooker</a>: he has no reason to lie to you (unlike me, who may at some point need you to lend me a fiver, or help lugging some furniture, or to hide a body)<br />
<a href="http://www.incense-man.co.uk/incense34B.html">Superhit jossticks</a>: unleash your inner (or outer) hippy and make your world smell sweeter!<br />
I love <a href="https://www.lush.co.uk/">Lush</a> products: they smell fabulous, they do a bloody good job and they do it all with a glint in their eye. I'd previously tried <a href="http://uk.lizearle.com/products_details.php?range=1&groupid=1&mnuid=">Liz Earle's facewash</a> (after remortgaging the house in order to do so...) but my skin hated it. It loves <a href="https://www.lush.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=379&category_id=493&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=80">Ultra Bland</a> though, which seems to last forever! Hurrah!<br />
Sainsbury's have introduced more coffee's into their Fairtrade range. Currently enjoying their Italian blend: very nice!<br />
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Summer has been and gone, but we managed to get away to Cornwall and had a fabulous time. I love it down there, the mix of raw, beautiful coastline and moors steeped in history and the ghosts of myths and people past. We had a <a href="http://www.sennensurfingcentre.com/index2.html">surfing lesson</a> which was a real epiphany, though not for the reasons I had hoped. I discovered that my body is every one of it 37 years: I have no physical strength, I have no flexibility and certainly no grace or elegance (but then I never had!) Ok, I've never been a completely fit person, but my body has often surprised me when called for. Not this time: it's gotten older, and is tired and needs help. At least the neoprene was forgiving! Me and the sea didn't get on too well this holiday: she chewed me up and spat me out as I tried to get over her hormonal waves. I took the hint and admired her from a distance.<br />
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I did, however, discover the coffee shop with the finest view:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31rTvatQlaLAriRto8Fz0VtRDK1k8nFdV3-xTiD0KDJoXgwUKlDV1PtaCvB_g8S08rD8VhfKS48eClDHs26rJs0bCU62JX8rv9t7pZbbbfCyUI_yIl-OCeSJSiQXx9sScVZxvUHY3pjI/s1600-h/IMG_1123.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379462463075657794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31rTvatQlaLAriRto8Fz0VtRDK1k8nFdV3-xTiD0KDJoXgwUKlDV1PtaCvB_g8S08rD8VhfKS48eClDHs26rJs0bCU62JX8rv9t7pZbbbfCyUI_yIl-OCeSJSiQXx9sScVZxvUHY3pjI/s320/IMG_1123.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/stives/">Tate St Ives</a>.</div>They also do a good line in sandwiches, cakes and delicious coffee, and use Cornish ingredients where possible. We weren't in the mood for the actual gallery, though I urge you to go. Whilst in St Ives, make sure you go to Barbara Hepworth's Museum + Gallery. The garden is an oasis of space and calm, away from the cramped, yet picturesque, streets. I loved her studio: you can't go in, but you can peer through the windows at a tableaux of artistic industry: it looks like she's just popped out to make herself a cuppa.<br />
We did pop into the shop to add to our collection of joyous inspiration:</div></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRy9CCl7haOoOcj4ZjBNIZeR7M5w4TgW_iH_U44rJD6M1-t5IcdHag2cZwnLDbmy5C-PRsEkDvtD-grMHBa5dhQDta1xAJ-WvZvHoqMmfmAk_-0bmv71XGWhYcGTqQddV2qdvCfrnghjs/s1600-h/Cornish+inspiration.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379429436712625906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRy9CCl7haOoOcj4ZjBNIZeR7M5w4TgW_iH_U44rJD6M1-t5IcdHag2cZwnLDbmy5C-PRsEkDvtD-grMHBa5dhQDta1xAJ-WvZvHoqMmfmAk_-0bmv71XGWhYcGTqQddV2qdvCfrnghjs/s320/Cornish+inspiration.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 296px;" /></a><br />
clockwise from top left:<br />
1) go to the <a href="http://www.edenproject.com/">Eden Project</a><br />
2) pass out at the wonderment<br />
3) after seeing her lil piggies in the <a href="http://www.edenproject.com/visiting-eden/whats-here/mediterranean-biome/index.php">Mediteranean Biome</a>, purchase this utterly inspiring <a href="http://www.heatherjansch.com/buy-the-book.php">book</a> and immerse yourself in her skillz via her <a href="http://www.heatherjansch.com/">website</a>.<br />
4) thank me later<br />
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A fabulous <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5813002">treasure hunt</a> book from <a href="http://www.alicemelvin.com/">Alice Melvin</a><br />
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Postcard featuring 'St Ives Harbour (All Round)' by <a href="http://www.bryanpearce.co.uk/index.html">Bryan Pearce</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.elainepamphilon.com/books.html">This book</a> makes me want to get the pencils and oil pastels (<a href="http://www.sennelier.fr/en/oil_pastels.php">Sennelier</a>, natch) out STAT! I love <a href="http://www.elainepamphilon.com/index.html">her work</a> oh so very very much. Please buy me some.<br />
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Postcards featuring 'Restaurant View with Leach Jug' and 'View from Pednolver Terrace' by <a href="http://www.thompsonsgallery.com/Aldeburgh/Search/ArtistDetails.asp?ArtistID=75">Rachel Nicholson</a><br />
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Right, I'm off to lie in a darkened room in preparation for the arrival of my muse.<br />
Let's not leave it so long next time.<br />
xyumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-10849725148461039772009-01-08T17:54:00.004+00:002009-01-08T18:31:40.932+00:00Meet my monkeys!Firstly, may I wish you all a very Happy New Year! How was it for you? Were you nestled under a hand-crocheted bedspread, sipping home-made sloe gin whilst tucking into home-made cake, snuggled up to your beautiful man (bedecked of hand-knitted jumper and needle-felted beard) and noticing how beautiful the stars twinkled onto the years first frost, wishing you had a macro lense powerful enough to capture such ephemeral beauty? Or were you dredging the abandoned glasses of a group of people who apparently are interesting, according to your now ex-friend, yet only succeeded in making you feel insignificant, thereby necessitating the need to get as drunk as humanly possible and thereby creating the table-dancing, bra-revealing snog-monster you ultimately morphed into?<br />I spent it with the in-laws near Penzance, drinking Guinness and arguing the importance of The Ting Tings whilst watching Jools' '<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gf5hc">Hootenanny</a>'. Its all good.<br /><br />Anyhoots, at long last, I've listed the monkeys I made aeons ago, and took to <a href="http://wemakelondon.blogspot.com/">Wemake</a> (then brought home again...) I wanted to share my descriptions with you: I went off on lyrical flights of fancy. Ho hum: marketing is definitely not my strong point...<br />I still have Alan to list, but I'll post when he's on Etsy.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meet Bunty!</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcXu3MCwswx7R72XWcblC5oiHD6CAon55j8pCGDOqsPltYpQOUKpEmQ_mWZk8dPvoVZIdBzR-8RRveovKgvFaxpYU5u6x_PW_QvfB6m3KQJTVkYFWgy5fV7kMDAv9M2f7C7J0apWuffc/s1600-h/Bunty.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcXu3MCwswx7R72XWcblC5oiHD6CAon55j8pCGDOqsPltYpQOUKpEmQ_mWZk8dPvoVZIdBzR-8RRveovKgvFaxpYU5u6x_PW_QvfB6m3KQJTVkYFWgy5fV7kMDAv9M2f7C7J0apWuffc/s320/Bunty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288990525285190578" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Bunty has been a teacher of PE for 10 years at a well-respected girls school, just north of West Chesterfordingshire. Her vociferous opinions on subjects such as the wearing of earrings during lessons and dealing with period pain by getting the affected girl to run around a field has endeared her to the weaker-willed members of the staffing body, whilst causing much consternation in her young charges.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Bunty is ready for a new challenge, and, considering her victory at last years 'West Chesterfordingshire Orienteering Jamboree', soundly trouncing favourite Ernie Ernster into an uneventful 3rd place, she's not wrong.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Can you provide Bunty with the thrills and fresh air she so brazenly craves?<br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meet Elspeth!</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fP30PbFHV0IdTtQ0j3voUGg4pV88MmA3y4QXtl4sPwMEBDkylaBFXcNGuCjvVEuiS2vE9HC4T46FAV5lWr07r0uoPqRVoXUtC5X4KuddMs-hCudpex9h3TKQrIWM7Ds0uP6_zXvM4Dw/s1600-h/Elspeth.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fP30PbFHV0IdTtQ0j3voUGg4pV88MmA3y4QXtl4sPwMEBDkylaBFXcNGuCjvVEuiS2vE9HC4T46FAV5lWr07r0uoPqRVoXUtC5X4KuddMs-hCudpex9h3TKQrIWM7Ds0uP6_zXvM4Dw/s320/Elspeth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288990520106611986" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Elspeth was a model back in the 70's. She was a muse to such fashion luminaries as Ossie Clark and, later, Zandra Rhodes. A life of glamour, socialising, ill-advised tanning and string bikinis encapsulated our monkey friend, but that was all to shatter around her, when (in a similar fashion to the tv dropped from the window of the 2rd floor hotel apartment by her good friend, the late Keith Moon) she ruptured her tail during an exuberant round of Canasta.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Years of therapy followed, often punctuated by bouts of drink and drug abuse until, in the spring of 1989, she found herself in the doorway of master baker, Dave Inkles, and a love of creating yeast-engorged produce ensued.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Known for her fine cakes, crisp biscuits and majesterial scarf-wearing, Elspeth has risen to be a national treasure. Indeed, her programme, 'The Sound of Whisk on Egg' was voted 'Most Important Food-Based Programme' at last years Baftas. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Elspeth needs a new kitchen with live-in quarters:</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Can you provide her with the bowls, whisks, vanilla, yeast and love she needs as she careers out of middle age? In return, she will regale you with stories of infinite glamour, plus tips on how to stop your custard from curdling.<br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">So: what do you think?<br /></div></div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-13716521820126453492008-11-13T12:54:00.005+00:002008-11-13T14:33:20.913+00:00How Bond broke my heart<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXKlpdl6ESuCdnPCJjSUF2vvb0HwTy7lNq781uoCgJnWJIKpjdkvucVPTpMamnoAqSXw-K6UyzUo1b2igiIugbrBMPGrCADhdfoaWYC4tj0An5JBRIhvQux0Si6oaimlb79kyra6dGYU/s1600-h/SPT+1311+Marc+Forster+broke+my+heart.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXKlpdl6ESuCdnPCJjSUF2vvb0HwTy7lNq781uoCgJnWJIKpjdkvucVPTpMamnoAqSXw-K6UyzUo1b2igiIugbrBMPGrCADhdfoaWYC4tj0An5JBRIhvQux0Si6oaimlb79kyra6dGYU/s320/SPT+1311+Marc+Forster+broke+my+heart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268132629586288994" border="0" /></a><br />I went to see the long awaited (and considerably over-hyped) 'Quantum of Solace' last night, a little wary after mixed reviews (in both the media and from trustworthy friends) Admittedly, it had a lot to live up to after the visual feast that is 'Casino Royale', a film that simultaneously reinvented the Bond genre whilst respecting what audiences have always loved about their favourite misogynistic, alcoholic, gadget-wielding, all-action hero.<br />I'd read that this ('Q o S') film was 'action-packed', but this didn't prepare me for the visual diatribe that followed. It starts off with a car chase, shot so close up, I assume to drag you personally into the action, but what happens is that you lose perspective of what is going on: your brain doesn't have time to register what it's seeing. And this is the films major flaw: so many choppy shots that keeping up with what the hell is going on is futile. All these stunning locations and no time to take it all in.<br />It is an incredible waste of talent and missed opportunities, tying up loose ends with gaffa tape rather than a neat bow. Daniel Craig is an amazing actor, completely mesmerizing no matter what film he's in (much like Johnny Depp, Michael Caine, Kathy Bates, Judi Dench etc) yet this doesn't allow him to get any further into the Bond psyche. Ok, we know he's heartbroken, we know he wants revenge, but that's it. For the whole film. He famously performed a high quota of the stunts in this film himself and, to be honest, he needn't have bothered: the film is shot in such a way that you can't tell its him anyway.<br />This film is basically a Bourne film, flimsily repackaged: for what reason, I do not know. And I don't like the Bourne films: 'Oh I wish I could remember who I am but, ooh! I appear to be a weapons expert! And a kung fu master! And I can speak 87 languages fluently! And I can remember how to drive! And I bet I'm shit hot at knitting too!' Oh fuck off, Bourne, you smug git!<br />When I watch a Bond film, I want to see a film that's loud and proud of itself: cocksure and eager to please. It needs an emotionally-stunted central character, lots of big explosions, scantily clad, beautiful ladies (if Bond is beautiful himself, like Craig, like Brosnan, like Connery, we don't mind), ridiculous gadgets and gizmos hidden in mundane objects, crazed madmen with elaborate plans to rule the world, Aston Martins, (NOT BMW's or Fords), Saville Row tailoring, and a clear sense of its own absudity. I don't want gritty realism ('Q of S' is incredibly violent: loads of bloody punch ups and death) I want escapism, pure, shiny, simple and fun. So come on, Bond People! Sort it out! Give us what we want, plus something we'd never expect!<br /><br />By the way: they should have used this theme tune:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TMoJRLStD9c&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TMoJRLStD9c&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Rant over: back to my crafting...yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-28368611773657151542008-11-07T18:01:00.013+00:002008-11-08T00:22:28.572+00:00Panic and BrowniesI don't know about you, but I reckon that if you are going to break a New Year's resolution, you should do it properly by, metaphorically, slapping its arse whilst laughing at its shoes: 'Blog each week?! *slap* Methinks not! And by the way, your shoes are repugnant! MUHUHAHAHA' or something like that...<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br />I just don't want you to get bored of me...<br /><br /><br />Any potential stalkers out there? Well allow me to give you a headstart and tell you where I'll be on Saturday 6th December:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://wemakelondon.blogspot.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 253px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVQWC8yzvKFq_7tpBinqMTXqGi9kG_W24tTcx3suFc1NC43msdpnuuouGT1-KouCJBpzo9z68ZIKz9JokawMAMIOfdZClJK3iVoXFTsWtjJAE1v3BCLdMRspdvdQDeNJs4HNYMetpHQ8/s320/wemake+logo+green.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266040865513582402" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Ok, Jesus and his Dad may have something about this rather bold claim, but it is in fact the name for a group of rather fabulous designers and makers, myself included, who will be selling their wares from 11-5pm at <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The American Church, 79a Tottenham Court Road, W1T 5TD. </span><span style="font-family:georgia;">Read all about it <a href="http://wemakelondon.blogspot.com/">here</a>. I expect to see you there, or else a note from your parent, on my desk the following Monday.<br /><br /><br /></span></span></span></span>I have been busy since we last met: honest! I've made these:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirI0TbEbr9pkH8CgStVbfPShpYjtL7sht-NGCQx2ABLuwzL3m7kDMzFY1AM8GWRNiLk2HsPrPibTl4LTuRouWM8tVYElx6xELH0hAnUZCQiHUMQJiKQzhYwnGiQ6Sw0s6MV6df6jKm0Ys/s1600-h/first+tea+cosy.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirI0TbEbr9pkH8CgStVbfPShpYjtL7sht-NGCQx2ABLuwzL3m7kDMzFY1AM8GWRNiLk2HsPrPibTl4LTuRouWM8tVYElx6xELH0hAnUZCQiHUMQJiKQzhYwnGiQ6Sw0s6MV6df6jKm0Ys/s200/first+tea+cosy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265986011243115794" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6qPrPxzpqbg-lRtKKwVpilGIfhkwYprz1SuLRTS0hKmBWyrVF-itySB3c9jIxq-zDWp5IezARRd22IfXQ-0QvRP8vn-DOMkLEo65Xhvqf_6g8UyDBVdS7Uxy1XsDhU5IJwgPGld8VEIc/s1600-h/first+tea+cosy+tother+side.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6qPrPxzpqbg-lRtKKwVpilGIfhkwYprz1SuLRTS0hKmBWyrVF-itySB3c9jIxq-zDWp5IezARRd22IfXQ-0QvRP8vn-DOMkLEo65Xhvqf_6g8UyDBVdS7Uxy1XsDhU5IJwgPGld8VEIc/s200/first+tea+cosy+tother+side.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265986018637816306" border="0" /></a><br /></div>This lemur one was a commission from a chum at work , and it inspired me to make more. (I have a similar one for a tea drinker with exquisite taste in <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13882781">my shop</a>.)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYDOtOqH8JEGTUon1HrL3JC6Jp8iFN6ZyTjMsdalPDTfVVHbZrW2GDaOeBHWbi8UPRvnoJobNuhGQSG1-Bug5KJaHp_YKDLah03ZJgK7Kx0opzbJmAwf6f1967bYSpeggGR32PfRY9Z0/s1600-h/tea+celebration+tea+cozy.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYDOtOqH8JEGTUon1HrL3JC6Jp8iFN6ZyTjMsdalPDTfVVHbZrW2GDaOeBHWbi8UPRvnoJobNuhGQSG1-Bug5KJaHp_YKDLah03ZJgK7Kx0opzbJmAwf6f1967bYSpeggGR32PfRY9Z0/s200/tea+celebration+tea+cozy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265986023126406034" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />I haven't listed this one yet...I don't know why (must have been distracted by something shiny) It will therefore escort me to <a href="http://wemakelondon.blogspot.com/">WeMake</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcgYEDA4Vwc3ZaWjpaxhp5shUHheB0_MqaTLMjWq3fRriKcMgQbymqZVhvV7T6cJPQEC2E_MA5Mci35TjygLjq0pzk4W1To1MJGjnPS0T0x2rk9HqBwAYe0DgnyZDB9q42PyZVZuhqf0/s1600-h/union+craft+tea+cozy.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 162px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcgYEDA4Vwc3ZaWjpaxhp5shUHheB0_MqaTLMjWq3fRriKcMgQbymqZVhvV7T6cJPQEC2E_MA5Mci35TjygLjq0pzk4W1To1MJGjnPS0T0x2rk9HqBwAYe0DgnyZDB9q42PyZVZuhqf0/s200/union+craft+tea+cozy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265986032087147314" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Union of Craft Tea Cosy<br />(sold, but I will recreate its' patriotic joy at some point)<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfyNIRAodlbog0wF50QFvhaT3rgnzSBtHyNs4my6WXZyu3GFsdHSNDX-xgcCGvCoZyXc1C-S_mkuaWG9E_JFoc5bltFX8E7bwdT5JxjCu6Svw8knfQQxKmy0TrgA0O9cq-6xI23CZA18/s1600-h/patchwork+lavender+hearts.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfyNIRAodlbog0wF50QFvhaT3rgnzSBtHyNs4my6WXZyu3GFsdHSNDX-xgcCGvCoZyXc1C-S_mkuaWG9E_JFoc5bltFX8E7bwdT5JxjCu6Svw8knfQQxKmy0TrgA0O9cq-6xI23CZA18/s200/patchwork+lavender+hearts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265991566909979874" border="0" /></a> </div></div><div style="text-align: center;">lavender hearts (3 available in <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5140310&section_id=5284523">the shop</a>) <br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2GTy9vYbzFDh2_1_iVVv9lHX-kYBqFQh6A3TyyQM3wgMKY8XZ1qjVSp98F-gAuF3_TsgPTlsU1cEaRC5H8fnE30i5ZJbRFCeiaJ2hrzhsKkjTjvS7Ty4Ocwza06d92w8dbE3QOgh1jak/s1600-h/patchwork+flowers.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 158px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2GTy9vYbzFDh2_1_iVVv9lHX-kYBqFQh6A3TyyQM3wgMKY8XZ1qjVSp98F-gAuF3_TsgPTlsU1cEaRC5H8fnE30i5ZJbRFCeiaJ2hrzhsKkjTjvS7Ty4Ocwza06d92w8dbE3QOgh1jak/s200/patchwork+flowers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265991557762039106" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">brooches for <a href="http://wemakelondon.blogspot.com/">WeMake</a> (apart from the centre one, which is for <a href="http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com/2008/08/scene-fab-flower-collaboration.html">this</a>)<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I believe in magic! I bought this size 10 linen skirt at my local flea market for one whole pound, for the fabric obviously (unless I was hoping to find another one in order to make trousers, I think that would be obvious) and asked the utterly gorgeous, uber stylish and ridiculously talented <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5259281">Abi Bansal</a> if she could perform fabric alchemy and turn my base metal skirt into a gold tunic.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NQgf8o4-yztun6Bi1Aa6wLpP7EsxrbPWpc1FI8Su8yP1mZOj8IwEFeq8Q3ntmzJQJCb2lXAkPXJIYtVjRKpSjgecRxWQDRKGQMJzE31n-JVNH9gN06oYkwQ7D5LpHTsb11nPZL4BGo0/s1600-h/linen+skirt+front.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NQgf8o4-yztun6Bi1Aa6wLpP7EsxrbPWpc1FI8Su8yP1mZOj8IwEFeq8Q3ntmzJQJCb2lXAkPXJIYtVjRKpSjgecRxWQDRKGQMJzE31n-JVNH9gN06oYkwQ7D5LpHTsb11nPZL4BGo0/s200/linen+skirt+front.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265991575330225234" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDSALBe72dPf7SoGOuJ_q8A6A6PxULl37WAUuPEVlpkNePnz1DG7n0yRpUijfdNyz3RXh3Wn09fxvy84UEhIdtX2yDmj7cLlrz391efHgGoWoY2alINq2s2i9VkCwCyWREIkhWshGJ8s/s1600-h/tunic+adoration.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 94px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDSALBe72dPf7SoGOuJ_q8A6A6PxULl37WAUuPEVlpkNePnz1DG7n0yRpUijfdNyz3RXh3Wn09fxvy84UEhIdtX2yDmj7cLlrz391efHgGoWoY2alINq2s2i9VkCwCyWREIkhWshGJ8s/s200/tunic+adoration.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265991579575708722" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />I love it, oh, everso. It hangs beautifully, the pockets are practical and at just the right height to pop your hands in comfortably for those moments that require sullen ambivalence, and / or lip balm storage. Check out her <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5259281">shop</a> and her beautiful, inspiring <a href="http://trainersinnightclubs.wordpress.com/">blog</a> and be touched by the Blessing of the Bansal: its what your life has been missing, quite frankly.<br /></div></div><br />I've also made some tea towels (long story: all will be revealed soon) for those brand, spanking new group of craft renegades, <a href="http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com/">ukhandmade</a>. (who very kindly did a '<a href="http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com/2008/10/spotlight-yumptatious.html">Spotlight</a>' on me!) They're from a recipe by Lotta Jansdotter's '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lotta-Jansdotters-Simple-Sewing-Jansdotter/dp/0811852571/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226095001&sr=1-1">Simple Sewing</a>' and, whilst I know there is something 'Oh dear! Mum needs to start taking her pills again!' about making your own tea towels, they rock long and they rock hard. Admit it: you'd have them:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ng1UFWhK7FqJ2oY_ZFBFPTf96SUaomhs3vcHOz2ohZjBZpIQ52E9tC2W-KSGGNGbNhcCl01cv-mcfKsopgs-Hn3Jv4qxeCyXyL3Fcgl5wU8MUyPUlB9HszbL-xriBeXeKfEtrJTbn34/s1600-h/ready+for+action.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ng1UFWhK7FqJ2oY_ZFBFPTf96SUaomhs3vcHOz2ohZjBZpIQ52E9tC2W-KSGGNGbNhcCl01cv-mcfKsopgs-Hn3Jv4qxeCyXyL3Fcgl5wU8MUyPUlB9HszbL-xriBeXeKfEtrJTbn34/s200/ready+for+action.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265991570734589170" border="0" /></a><br /><br />...and you'd be right too.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Ok, the '<span style="font-weight: bold;">Panic</span>' in the title of this post refers to me getting ready for <a href="http://wemakelondon.blogspot.com/">WeMake</a>. (expect a minimalist style from the House of yumptatious...) Therefore, it is now time for <span style="font-weight: bold;">brownies</span>. (I know that's the real reason you're here.) But I warn you: if you are on a diet, navigate away from the page (unless, of course, you have a moment of clarity, in that you realise that your life will only improve, not when your thighs cease to rub together when you walk, but when you appreciate just how lucky you are to have any form of body at all, and that to waste life trying to conform to some narrow concept of beauty is futile, when you could be enjoying the warmth and joy that life, and a willing partner, are waiting to cloak you in.)<br /><br />This is based on a recipe by <a href="http://www.elisabethluard.com/">Elisabeth Luard</a> and is from the October edition of my favourite porn mag, <a href="http://www.allaboutyou.com/home/channel%7Eindex?source=2">Country Living</a>. (I know its wrong, but I can't help myself...)<br />I have lost count how many times I have made this recipe already, at first, slavishly following the instructions (apart from the 75g chocolate: what is the point of leaving the last 25g?! Thwack it all in!) to what I do now: mixing it all in one pan.<br />I have used the strongest Green + Blacks chocolate and also Sainsbury's economy dark chocolate and it all works, baby! Just don't ever, EVER use cooking chocolate! As my beautiful, and very to-the-point chum, <a href="http://www.dalupa.co.uk/">Vera</a> once said to me, with a look of shock and disgust, 'Why?!?! Use real chocolate!' She is wise, and I haven't looked back since. (well, I did reverse round a corner last week...)<br />It also works with demerera sugar I discovered last week, after I ran out of caster sugar (when we run out of caster sugar, I have the same look of panic in my eyes when that my Mum used to have when she ran out of garlic: one part confusion mixed with two parts of fear. This shows just how much my Mum used/s garlic in her cooking, rather than reveal a fear of vampires.)<br />It works equally well with unsalted butter or cheap(ish) sunflower spread. (as long as you don't used reduced fat spreads, because they just don't do the job.)<br />And don't bother melting your chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of boiling water: I just melt it together in the pan: aah, bite me!<br />Ms Luard's recipe uses hazelnuts, but good old walnuts work well. I wager that pecans would be most edifying too, whatwhat.<br /><br />Please feel free to print this off and put it on your fridge for ease of use. Personally, I'd be tempted to have it tattooed onto the inside of my eyelids, but I'm just a martyr to the baking cause.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 'Surely there should be more effort involved?!' Brownies.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMvy1xbpa-8slIx8J84Vb1eEyOmzb2kx34AFb6SkgX2t8k0WjH1c8vTd5pPuJ_oBLu8SCIpFVmLrGEAN-dEd7K75pdLW184J9OkpRrgY1Lb79nxh-dBYxHhrpkNuqcxX-wAf42qmxKa8/s1600-h/brownies+ingredients.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 165px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMvy1xbpa-8slIx8J84Vb1eEyOmzb2kx34AFb6SkgX2t8k0WjH1c8vTd5pPuJ_oBLu8SCIpFVmLrGEAN-dEd7K75pdLW184J9OkpRrgY1Lb79nxh-dBYxHhrpkNuqcxX-wAf42qmxKa8/s200/brownies+ingredients.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266065516709300242" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />100g dark chocolate<br />125g chopped butter (it melts easier in small pieces) or 125g scooped margarine (you could possibly melt it by breathing on it: why not give it a go...)<br />250g caster sugar (or whatever sugar you have: its all good)<br />2 eggs<br />100g self raising flour<br />100g walnuts (or any nut that curries your favour)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Heat oven to 190oc / gas mark 5<br /><br />Melt together the chocolate and butter, maverick style, straight in the pan over a medium heat.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5CoLVn9Nv1RS15w2a4_vzKtVgqe0kjQVDxwBarDHEOsPHC4Io8GQpLKY-zo-QrKmOswbUC497DwqiXaD2Shyphenhyphen2w-BsiBpN43y9GRBeO6ugf5I6zrZwUlQ9Yv_mkQkNg2OTf8QiOf6w_24/s1600-h/bain+mawhat.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5CoLVn9Nv1RS15w2a4_vzKtVgqe0kjQVDxwBarDHEOsPHC4Io8GQpLKY-zo-QrKmOswbUC497DwqiXaD2Shyphenhyphen2w-BsiBpN43y9GRBeO6ugf5I6zrZwUlQ9Yv_mkQkNg2OTf8QiOf6w_24/s200/bain+mawhat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266065533968152066" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>Allow to cool slightly. (just the time it takes to either make a cup of tea, look for and download an obscure song from iTunes, or log onto <a href="http://www.etsy.com/index.php">Etsy</a>, click on 'Community', then click on 'Forums', find the UK chat hidden away in 'Etc' and type in 'I'd have to disagree. I was quite ill for days as a result' and log out instantly.)<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13ZimijKe96iHTlBrZl7vO6gjsVlmOiL9MMUfGD0gKFo-Pr41KvjNzW1QYyX8wzg4YhDHeBD4sXevvORjx5I0Fb5YPHD0UG3HsO61A44H2QTaATLt4b71mP1fT6pMDbSbaz-2gsf_-3A/s1600-h/sugar.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 139px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13ZimijKe96iHTlBrZl7vO6gjsVlmOiL9MMUfGD0gKFo-Pr41KvjNzW1QYyX8wzg4YhDHeBD4sXevvORjx5I0Fb5YPHD0UG3HsO61A44H2QTaATLt4b71mP1fT6pMDbSbaz-2gsf_-3A/s200/sugar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266065543355240322" border="0" /></a><br />Add the sugar to the chocolate melaaaange and beat together.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJlc6GrUcaQ_rZRhyphenhyphenI-e-xctLI-sOSloD-hwPQZxNEh2IHClB0gLWzvi6lgNXeTeaIFCFm27ZGuL8CCtONtbDehyh8fLcI5eOVjxydt-rBX0JB3YqEGhmDFkuPfrDaGfuWuZkm1nhfo4/s1600-h/eggs.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJlc6GrUcaQ_rZRhyphenhyphenI-e-xctLI-sOSloD-hwPQZxNEh2IHClB0gLWzvi6lgNXeTeaIFCFm27ZGuL8CCtONtbDehyh8fLcI5eOVjxydt-rBX0JB3YqEGhmDFkuPfrDaGfuWuZkm1nhfo4/s200/eggs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266065506784870738" border="0" /></a><br />Add the eggs to the sweet chocolate melaaaange and beat together.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vPiP56SzWTg-aoFvekroAosP9glZZieFxqjbpmoKCSkWl7wUJvOVdBmdrz85Q5Kw0h9ND69dKBKfEjp0BUeAUX1iVPQZdmdy3_3zIb7nkxpYhgndHNU60aFQ9p0QaEtZfnpoeZ5D604/s1600-h/flour.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vPiP56SzWTg-aoFvekroAosP9glZZieFxqjbpmoKCSkWl7wUJvOVdBmdrz85Q5Kw0h9ND69dKBKfEjp0BUeAUX1iVPQZdmdy3_3zIb7nkxpYhgndHNU60aFQ9p0QaEtZfnpoeZ5D604/s200/flour.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266065522167112818" border="0" /></a><br />Add the flour to the eggy, sweet, chocolate melaaaange and beat together.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcpToqPo3IRiBcTlujmq6heeWCqv-t6ve5MHQuO_YAmSM9Injt3TwXafCeUlhjreV6tXqv6wehxM_bKgrgcsw7-Bp7UTk9rnsNpBBAbmW5Vzi37V8Xe57_Ag6lopjubS2JGLzX_8e2BxA/s1600-h/nuts.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcpToqPo3IRiBcTlujmq6heeWCqv-t6ve5MHQuO_YAmSM9Injt3TwXafCeUlhjreV6tXqv6wehxM_bKgrgcsw7-Bp7UTk9rnsNpBBAbmW5Vzi37V8Xe57_Ag6lopjubS2JGLzX_8e2BxA/s200/nuts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266068331057394258" border="0" /></a><br />Add the nuts to the flour-enriched, eggy, sweet, chocolate melaaaange and beat together.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_2yZD6slrbhzZRUPUK0AeabstFnXGg7Rxrie6hN-SsoSeXd8Z2hszKTMWOA2RoKxvDgGKNwZoRBqy_VdewhPIiMBOqCsC9elIupVgsQ6ojHjqol4uaZhGJyS4Jgy_bDAt4oR2McTO8U/s1600-h/oven+ready.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_2yZD6slrbhzZRUPUK0AeabstFnXGg7Rxrie6hN-SsoSeXd8Z2hszKTMWOA2RoKxvDgGKNwZoRBqy_VdewhPIiMBOqCsC9elIupVgsQ6ojHjqol4uaZhGJyS4Jgy_bDAt4oR2McTO8U/s200/oven+ready.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266068335252530930" border="0" /></a><br />Line a 20cm square tin (or the nearest you've got: I'm not a tin fascist) in the style of your choosing (I use reuseable Teflon liners, but thats just how I roll) and pour in the hip-enhancing goop.<br /><br /></div>Bake for 25 mins.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGfMD1zsjpRG0Rqcsm3I2JqKs7ygzs33uIoFo1MQUwUZkRHcblM2AgnZhu6yx7Zuy7wyKAJqRps1fiqdigyevMV1TEzdJ0dDxHoWMRIG6nM0-kapLhhte0ced5lZFKUJ79hkn5Y1F8cw/s1600-h/slice+while+warm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGfMD1zsjpRG0Rqcsm3I2JqKs7ygzs33uIoFo1MQUwUZkRHcblM2AgnZhu6yx7Zuy7wyKAJqRps1fiqdigyevMV1TEzdJ0dDxHoWMRIG6nM0-kapLhhte0ced5lZFKUJ79hkn5Y1F8cw/s200/slice+while+warm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266068342419529138" border="0" /></a><br />Cut into squares and allow to cool. I put mine in the fridge after about 20 mins to harden up the chocolate. I store them in there rather than storing them in a tin.<br /></div><br /><br />I know this is hard, but try not to eat the lot on your own, especially if you've used a powerful cocoa-charged chocolate, as you may get a little buzzy.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bHCqIx6oYC3mmy1aHLU6wm5y5b2p7ddPnTx_O-JBOIJkpadUv7bk6PZgHbUt8t4PmQ3yGFJKu8HGZXY-7Mi5w7Rpal115XtTGaHPDoUGBN9mKtp0sqmEd-oQ6RyVXHDpSnod7AHNOso/s1600-h/Lord+Nomnom+of+Nomerson+McNoms.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bHCqIx6oYC3mmy1aHLU6wm5y5b2p7ddPnTx_O-JBOIJkpadUv7bk6PZgHbUt8t4PmQ3yGFJKu8HGZXY-7Mi5w7Rpal115XtTGaHPDoUGBN9mKtp0sqmEd-oQ6RyVXHDpSnod7AHNOso/s200/Lord+Nomnom+of+Nomerson+McNoms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266068344435623138" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">This is my gift to you: use it wisely.<br /></div></div><br /></div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-75642573889099747392008-07-07T11:01:00.008+01:002008-07-07T14:35:28.312+01:00Bread and beautyThe gorgeous <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5259281">Abi</a> has started a fabulous group over on Flickr called <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/799185@N21/"><span style="font-size:100%;">Day2Day- Take Five Ordinary Beauty.</span></a><br />It's made me start looking at things the way we were taught to when I was an art student, to see the beauty in the ordinary, to seek inspiration through the commonplace. Of course, back then, we didn't have digital cameras: we had sketchbooks and cameras with film *the music to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFLBvLxLJMI">Hovis adverts</a> starts up in the distance*<br />Anyhoots, here is my visual bounty for the past couple of weeks:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rVYf3PDn_rWBMjKZfsy0jL8xNzmm3EMLtUVPL2jjlhXQexuLnBFD__-gM9rm3OSY0J7BWYcAiQDcdM9U3VQWyQpYZxGrZMX26ybySZlaXcxeZUzJfQVkpyfQmt9OyMZMiFyrw7w2zco/s1600-h/mosaic2165241.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rVYf3PDn_rWBMjKZfsy0jL8xNzmm3EMLtUVPL2jjlhXQexuLnBFD__-gM9rm3OSY0J7BWYcAiQDcdM9U3VQWyQpYZxGrZMX26ybySZlaXcxeZUzJfQVkpyfQmt9OyMZMiFyrw7w2zco/s400/mosaic2165241.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220237084654453474" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">1. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2608201522/">snack (d2d, day 1)</a>, 2. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2608347076/">in the kitchen (d2d, day 1)</a>, 3. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2609954439/">cworfeee (d2d, day 2)</a>, 4. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2614206548/">in the night garden (d2d, day 3)</a>, 5. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2615863932/">treasure (d2d, day 4)</a>, 6. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2615863434/">bite (d2d, day 4)</a>, 7. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2621044267/">day2day, day 5</a>, 8. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2625751348/">alium seed head2 (d2d, day1/week2)</a>, 9. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2625749842/">alium seed head (d2d, day1/week2)</a>, 10. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2627969467/">sunbathing lavender (d2d, day 2 week 2)</a>, 11. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2630874041/">peppermill (D2D: 3/wk2)</a>, 12. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2631082861/">waiting (d2d 3 week2)</a>, 13. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2633707040/">i heart recycling (d2d: 4/2)</a>, 14. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2635669773/">comfort eating (d2d: 5/2)</a>, 15. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8057352@N02/2645028285/">english summer (d2d: 1/03)</a></span><br /><br /><br />Would you like to know how to make that delicious looking bread from photo 14? Of course you would, for you are hungry for knowledge and easy-to-make baked produce. It's a Nigella recipe (oh, for a change...) from <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5730086">this tasty book</a>.<br />Are you sitting comfortably?<br />Then I'll begin...<br />She's called it 'Lazy Loaf' but I prefer the far more catchy name of<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">'Sweet Mother of Holy Fuck! That is a Damn Simple Loaf to Both Make and Eat!'<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div></div>200g ridiculously expensive but ridiculously tasty sugar-free muesli (I used Dorset Cereals Organic Fruit, Nuts and Seeds)<br />325g wholewheat bread flour<br />1 x 6g packet of easyblend yeast (or, in my case, a 7g sachet of Sainsbury's Fast Action Dried Yeast)<br />2 teaspoons Maldon salt or 1 tablespoon table salt<br />250ml semi-skimmed milk<br />250ml water<br /><br />1. Mix together the muesli, flour yeast and salt in a bowl, although you could use a bucket or other recepticle should you wish, if you want to be a bit wierd. Here is how I stir:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDX23Oy5no0u0frt65W6K2tAqRd-qBCj32Ep9zbd_7UwIKhuJ1ARgI4CHjrKA6HIWIUpBa3mzNcxwBngD3HsdFdm4BjtAFB7MYvx3ZkXSivRjoLrgxu-D86HL6Lbp6ac63PKGJPjhG38/s1600-h/how+to+stir.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDX23Oy5no0u0frt65W6K2tAqRd-qBCj32Ep9zbd_7UwIKhuJ1ARgI4CHjrKA6HIWIUpBa3mzNcxwBngD3HsdFdm4BjtAFB7MYvx3ZkXSivRjoLrgxu-D86HL6Lbp6ac63PKGJPjhG38/s400/how+to+stir.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220218396674840850" border="0" /></a><br />2.Pour in the milk and water. I like to do it like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHhFN4b1NBAkIbrsQCgep1N4hAow5Q7O-8MflCf4thjOxRb5C7nBFvVMEejVFqp6ov5U7QNRstgS0veh-4g0BV2V4mrnwa01Iyc_3wHSTElt-gupTCH-DK-ruyYXQJYizJFQr87bPrMk/s1600-h/how+to+pour.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHhFN4b1NBAkIbrsQCgep1N4hAow5Q7O-8MflCf4thjOxRb5C7nBFvVMEejVFqp6ov5U7QNRstgS0veh-4g0BV2V4mrnwa01Iyc_3wHSTElt-gupTCH-DK-ruyYXQJYizJFQr87bPrMk/s400/how+to+pour.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220218390816117026" border="0" /></a>Obviously, if you have access to a cow on a diet (remember: its semi-skimmed milk we need here), you may want to administer it straight from the udder.<br /><br />3. Mix this unholy cacophony of staples so that it looks like one mahoosive bowl of porridge, like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKH9TaZPCYWZDd9MVU_NDGSVfs0i9KuGzs6nf_SmSWPYgkR6hrT0-EQISmo8nOUrUIA7nt_2EQ8Zq_wKa0ierw4xVZQXSjJzgCNMCm7BztOQ8GA2A7R_WCGMKLI1qrm_VAMsAujmVGyso/s1600-h/she+wasn%27t+lying+when+she+said+porridge.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKH9TaZPCYWZDd9MVU_NDGSVfs0i9KuGzs6nf_SmSWPYgkR6hrT0-EQISmo8nOUrUIA7nt_2EQ8Zq_wKa0ierw4xVZQXSjJzgCNMCm7BztOQ8GA2A7R_WCGMKLI1qrm_VAMsAujmVGyso/s400/she+wasn%27t+lying+when+she+said+porridge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220218403725740562" border="0" /></a><br />4. Grease or line a loaf tin and pour the porridgey goo in.<br />5. Put in a cold oven then put it on at 110*c / gas mark 1/4 for 45 minutes.<br />6. Turn the oven up to 180*c / gas mark 4 for 1 hour. Spend this time berating the fact that you didn't make it last night and should have had something for breakfast before embarking on this bread quest. Take the butter out of the fridge so that it is soft and ready (insert your own crude metaphor here)<br />7. Hallelujah! That annoying 'beep beep' of your timer heralds the dawning of the Age of Sweet Mother ... bread! Release the loaf from its 180*c prison and allow it to cool for, if you can manage it, a few minutes. Warm, fresh bread is fabulous: mouth burnt by fresh bread is tedious.<br />8. Slather in butter, jam or just adoration and try not to eat the whole loaf before your family gets home: that's the trickiest part.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4oGxMBJ3p-Lquu7QPM9Rhax6jJjISuteIku3UI-xxoZNGSEEnB39iwAHRkyRsz5v0NezVlWBNrTIVd3vJwSocN-gfxv92gce3NblSzn5yig1lfJLQnfNt-RIsV7zfW2dCHU0uK4uvlFg/s1600-h/comfort+eating+d2d+5+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4oGxMBJ3p-Lquu7QPM9Rhax6jJjISuteIku3UI-xxoZNGSEEnB39iwAHRkyRsz5v0NezVlWBNrTIVd3vJwSocN-gfxv92gce3NblSzn5yig1lfJLQnfNt-RIsV7zfW2dCHU0uK4uvlFg/s400/comfort+eating+d2d+5+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220257145704541186" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Bon appetit!<br /></div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-55467760105113137482008-06-18T22:34:00.009+01:002008-06-19T22:43:20.144+01:00Stuff and nonsense<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpt169XqTB8dSxLeCGU0vhcC8awyMKOW3B1FDuvWtQhlB49sC5N70-vtLY-KoKhIixTt5Cl7vxVN-h5yeYFjsMTRoc25GfMacyeMeSH7R542In21SNxRCGmFXeyJiU4NdR1r6GjB4Y08/s1600-h/wemake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpt169XqTB8dSxLeCGU0vhcC8awyMKOW3B1FDuvWtQhlB49sC5N70-vtLY-KoKhIixTt5Cl7vxVN-h5yeYFjsMTRoc25GfMacyeMeSH7R542In21SNxRCGmFXeyJiU4NdR1r6GjB4Y08/s400/wemake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213687193444853266" border="0" /></a><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/em/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/em/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-3.jpg" alt="" />First things first: this Sunday, the 22nd June, a group of fabulously talented makers are getting together near Convent Garden to unleash their creative produce to the world. Its called WeMake, and you need to be there, armed with money and hungry for gorgeousness. You can find out about it on their blog <a href="http://www.wemakelondon.blogspot.com/">here.</a><br />I'm going up to support rather than have a stall. If you see me, do come and say hello and drag me for coffee and cake, not that I'll need much persuading if there are refreshments involved.<br /><br />Speaking of cake, I've been a bit of a Domestic Goddess recently, if I do say so myself, thanks largely to this <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=4624413">fantabulous cookbook</a>. Here's an example of the joy that book can bring:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3271/2455954531_ae4292cbbd.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3271/2455954531_ae4292cbbd.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">the ones with purple splodges are cherry (use frozen cherries for ease and welcoming moistness), yogurt and oat and the others are spiced apple and walnut.<br /></div>The book is wondrous: the recipes are easy to follow, the combinations of flavours are tasty and not outlandish and the results are consistent. Its the kind of book people buy firstly for themselves, and then come back and buy many for friends and family. Its so good, my best mate<a href="http://ktandcoffee.blogspot.com/"> KT</a> had it sent over from Hastings to her new home in New Zealand as she missed it so.<br /><br />On the crafting front, sometimes it pays to rethink and re-do a project. I had made some fabric hearts, stuffed with polyfil, as general decorative fripperies. They sat, unloved in <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5140310">my shop</a>, until I suddenly saw the obvious need and re-stuffed them with some calming lavender. I very quickly sold two! Hurrah! I have some more: you need them, your socks need them, let alone your pants. They're in the shop now! (I keep them in a tupperware-style box, determined to keep the freshness in) They're kinda cute, just this side of Cath Kidston, and quite normal for me!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2262/2489625426_bab2029e92.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2262/2489625426_bab2029e92.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I was recently commissioned by a chum at work to make something for his girlfriend's birthday. She loves lemurs and he wanted to give her a pouch (zip up purse / make-up / oddment bag) that lovingly empathised with her love of this Madagascan inhabitant.<br />So, after some preliminary sketches<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6F1jpzl6R9AyPWEAN2nfKDgiREMB8_FKrtIDtXWnAyOeDFC9fntZiF3dQObdQi2x5ZiCBXcTrWzpzJ8mqtKqeKJIYIq-mTGZ-VgO2ltqs__EXBoH2r_U__dDz5OxRmcNqc52s0dgOLk/s1600-h/lemur+wip.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6F1jpzl6R9AyPWEAN2nfKDgiREMB8_FKrtIDtXWnAyOeDFC9fntZiF3dQObdQi2x5ZiCBXcTrWzpzJ8mqtKqeKJIYIq-mTGZ-VgO2ltqs__EXBoH2r_U__dDz5OxRmcNqc52s0dgOLk/s400/lemur+wip.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213676549304275202" border="0" /></a><br />I came up with this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-SqTi8pmOhN2lHpYHK3y2wMahQ8KhJy3gQ9KDtXJrW-UD9DFRBMDCE5x6pUFo8FrpKm3sZqxw3Z7Xd13Ompb8p5ir3Akny6YOpxT5o_mBKolGXSDig7jI7AQTWH7rRHuveaA9bVtKfY/s1600-h/lemur+pouch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-SqTi8pmOhN2lHpYHK3y2wMahQ8KhJy3gQ9KDtXJrW-UD9DFRBMDCE5x6pUFo8FrpKm3sZqxw3Z7Xd13Ompb8p5ir3Akny6YOpxT5o_mBKolGXSDig7jI7AQTWH7rRHuveaA9bVtKfY/s400/lemur+pouch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213352050796794610" border="0" /></a><br />He loved it but more importantly, so did she. Even more importantly, it started a chain reaction which linked in with some ideas I'd had in my sketchbook:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQIVnXkBNT49st020tTaljxWnl_60tLRpAB7ZItESZqhXtk8AceBHszA6cUMSgrTAr8wdUtUd3Tk-vDxfXBga-SpvY6p2ThyphenhyphenjJHgkHsn9KryJu4dn1fYMTFmViwVSD9KnNFlgVUJUCMU/s1600-h/creative+chaos.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQIVnXkBNT49st020tTaljxWnl_60tLRpAB7ZItESZqhXtk8AceBHszA6cUMSgrTAr8wdUtUd3Tk-vDxfXBga-SpvY6p2ThyphenhyphenjJHgkHsn9KryJu4dn1fYMTFmViwVSD9KnNFlgVUJUCMU/s400/creative+chaos.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213352035650973346" border="0" /></a><br />and these lead to the creation of these beauties:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVhMfhsFcrxi9kjW6070DJUgErJaLErbGQGh9c5QT4SQ4rz0EarX9Ela8fAmpwoMlOTjZ8pbLjdIY-shcGuH0ZT_ulgRAb0omFvM1Nw28-PYi5K9in5TGx2PgEFa4rR-fMH1gQv86bXI/s1600-h/completed+pouches.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVhMfhsFcrxi9kjW6070DJUgErJaLErbGQGh9c5QT4SQ4rz0EarX9Ela8fAmpwoMlOTjZ8pbLjdIY-shcGuH0ZT_ulgRAb0omFvM1Nw28-PYi5K9in5TGx2PgEFa4rR-fMH1gQv86bXI/s400/completed+pouches.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213352055871799890" border="0" /></a>top left (sold): "aint nowt wrong with my girlie crap", top right: "<a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12427851">aint nowt wrong with loving cake</a>", bottom left: "<a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=12427130">tea, coffee, wine and beer - its all good</a>" and bottom right: "<a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=12427365">aint nowt wrong with loving a chicken</a>"<br /><br /></div><br />All this creativity needs replenishing, and at times like this, despite her teeth-itching (cheers <a href="http://mikeandsuj.blogspot.com/">Maose</a> for that phrase!) tv performances, <a href="http://www.nigella.com/">Nigella</a> shines through. I adapted her recipe for 'Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake', found in the 'Chocolate Hall of Fame' to be found in the beautiful '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=3822595">Feast</a>'. She suggests '175g best quality dark chocolate', I suggest Lidl's milk chocolate, 29p for 100g.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/2572960250_0d2ede05c0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/2572960250_0d2ede05c0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Its all good.<br /></div><br /><br />Quick round up of my recent reads:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6046448">Alice Hoffman 'The Third Angel'</a>. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. We start off with one character, then layers are peeled back to reveal a complex story of intertwining characters, linked in ways that none of them are aware of. The characters on the periphery are far more absorbing than the perceived central character, but discovering the warp and weft (eeh! That textile degree wasn't a waste, Mum!) of their stories is ultimately very satisfying. The settings, both physical and in time, are beautifully evocative, but then I'm a sucker for anything set in the 50's and 60's: if its well written, I see it in black and white, in a cloud of innocence and cigarette smoke. I'd love to know what you think.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5807170">Nora Ephron 'I Feel Bad About My Neck'.</a> I would recommend this for any woman over 30, and certainly for women over 50. As a 36 year old woman, I want to know that there is life, and it is fun, and it is positive, as I get older. Would-be role models fall prey to plastic surgery and the ridiculous concept that a youthful face is wrinkle free and immobile. As the mother of a rather beautiful teenager, let me remind you that a youthful face is incredibly animated and full of wonder, however much they try and mask it with an air of boredom and cynicism- wrinkles make not a jot of difference. Any hoots, this is a smart, sassy perceptive and honest read, as you'd expect from the writer of 'When Harry met Sally'. It oozes positivity, not in a hippy drippy Louise L Hay kind-of-a-way, but in a beautiful, down-to-earth way. If you've ever had ovaries, or you've ever met someone who has, read it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6086148">Meg Wolitzer 'The Ten Year Nap'</a>. I loved this book deeply. Certain lines in this book were written just for me and me alone I am sure. The woman has opened up my brain, assessed how I feel about being a woman, wife, mother, human, and peppered her story with nuggets of wisdom to remind me that I'm doing ok and that I should stop beating myself up all the time for not being all that I should be. If you're a mother, read this. If you think that one day, you'll have children, read this, because anyone who tells you your life won't change when you have children is lying! The story centres around one character, Amy, then pans out to encompass all her friends. Each has a different take on the notion of motherhood and how it has affected them. I love the idea of 'The Ten-Year Nap': women all over the world are suddenly woken up by the growing independence of their offspring, revealing the woman that was there before ante-natal checks, urine samples and more internal examinations than are strictly necessary: 'Oh shit! I'm still here: a whole lot wider, a little wiser, but I still have my sense of humour and, despite an appalling recall for names, my brain still seems to be working...So what now?!'<br /><br />On a completely different tangent, I'm currently reading <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5539310">George Melly's autobiographical trilogy</a> and also this anthology of <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=3822359">Dave Allen</a>, and am thoroughly enjoying them both. (you can 'hear' them narrate: it is impossible to read without hearing their particular vocal inflections.) I'll let you know how me and the boys get on!<br /><br /><br />PS: thanks, hugs and the promise of cake to <a href="http://beesingsthemoon.blogspot.com/">Bee</a> and <a href="http://mikeandsuj.blogspot.com/">Maose</a> for their nagging: I'll try and blog more, but, if you enjoy the read, feel free to nag more! :-)yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373838369113086466.post-5260445030787712922008-04-18T22:05:00.004+01:002008-04-19T00:04:36.513+01:00While my mojo gently sleepsThings have not been to good for me on the creative front of late: nothing major, I just seem to have misplaced my creative juices. Hopefully, they haven't evaporated but have concentrated into a thickly aromatic jus that just needs water added at a later date to reactivate the crafty goodness (I've been reading far too many cookbooks; can you tell?!) Thats why I haven't been blogging or going into the Etsy forums as I have nothing new to show you, no new WIP's, and I feel like a bit of a fraud. But I have some ideas bubbling away that have started my brain cells ticking, so watch this space. Its been school hols over the last 2 weeks, so I'm hoping to get stuck in to some creative shenanigans next week. I can't remember if I'd mentioned this before, (apologies if I have: go and put the kettle on and I'll try to be brief) but my '<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yumptatious/sets/72157600175754871/">studio</a>' is the kitchen in our teeny Edwardian (Victorian?) mid terrace cottage. Its a busy room, full of baking, music, chat, homework and never-ending washing up. Its hard to sustain a creative flow here whilst looking after a family and I get very frustrated. Hopefully, we'll be able to move and yumptatious can have its own space. (If you would like to buy a beautiful, 2-bed house in Tonbridge, do let me know!)<br /><br />But I have been reading....<br />I've spoken about the possible perks of working in a bookshop before, but failed to mention this extremely generous gift from Ian McEwan to all Waterstone's employees:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4WYoRfgLDqBRulKg6NWUk_coMZkwGdK6MvWGMHx1b83y_h-gRUwUWK8fJ-aIyr4K57dokkCbAm1Bank4hjdOL5zLS-cXGYrHsixEELvbqoMJLTIO4a50qAnvXq3AqFLSouqOO3M4WL0/s1600-h/judge+the+book+by+its+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4WYoRfgLDqBRulKg6NWUk_coMZkwGdK6MvWGMHx1b83y_h-gRUwUWK8fJ-aIyr4K57dokkCbAm1Bank4hjdOL5zLS-cXGYrHsixEELvbqoMJLTIO4a50qAnvXq3AqFLSouqOO3M4WL0/s400/judge+the+book+by+its+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190706668010655218" border="0" /></a>The inscription on the inside reads,<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'Congratulations to all at Waterstone's for a quarter of a century of brilliant service to readers'<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"></span><br />To be honest, I didn't instantly jump at the chance to devour this book: I had tried, unsuccesfully to read '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5383053">Atonement</a>' but could not get into it. I think I gave up when I got to the point where the young girl gazes in wonderment at her hand...for a whole page... I just kept thinking, 'I could be dead tomorrow and am wasting these precious moments that I will never get back, over a book I feel I should read but has failed to engage me on any level'. I will give it another go at some point, but from chatting to others, I think he is an author that strongly divides readers. The last time I saw such strength of feeling was over '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5840167">One Hundred Years of Solitude</a>', a book you either adore with a passion usually reserved for George Clooney, Daniel Craig or Green and Blacks chocolate, or hate it, with an equally strong passion usually reserved for Anthea Turner, Avid Merrion or Brussel Sprouts. I hated the book and hurled it across the room with venomous aplomb when I finished it.<br />However, I read a review of '<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5891019">On Chesil Beach</a>' that roused my interest and so pulled it off the shelves, blew off the dust, removed it from its protective case, spending an unnaturally long time appreciating the chocolate edging of the pages, the burnt bronze embossed seagulls and lettering, and started to read.<br />It's a beautiful story, at times hilarious in its detailing of post-war embarrassment and social expectations. The characters are both engaging and angrily frustrating at the same time and in this instance, McEwan's eye for detail is enlightening, not stifling. If you are sweet enough to presently be thinking of holding onto your virginity until your wedding night (as if anyone with such morals would read my diatribe!) please read this first! If, like me, you married in black and thus had a carefree honeymoon, read this and feel smug in your sluttish wisdom! Just read this book: its very short, like a concentrated jus!<br />And thus, the posting circle is complete!<br /><br />ps. what books would you recommend?<br /><br /><br />Now playing: <a href="http://www.foxytunes.com/artist/radiohead/track/jigsaw+falling+into+place" title="'Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling Into Place' - open on FoxyTunes Planet">Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling Into Place</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-style: italic;font-size:10;" >via <a style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);" href="http://www.foxytunes.com/signatunes/" title="FoxyTunes - Web of music at your fingertips">FoxyTunes</a></span> <br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"></span></div></div>yumptatioushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05309009258251150015noreply@blogger.com4