Snowing in London

Written 11th of May, about sometime back in April.

Ok, I have gotten super slack with the blog thing, and there are tonnes of things I should probably put in here.
So lets start with when Mum and Brian came to visit.

It snowed. On their last day.

We woke up in the morning, and looked out the window, and there were huge white fluffy flakes up to the size of 20 cent pieces floating down, and a few inches of snow had gathered on the ground. This is a BIG DEAL in London - sometimes in winter it snows just a little, but rarely does it gather on the ground. So it was on with the ski gear and out into it for us!!
We built a snow bunny, with squished raspberries for eyes, so he looked a little like an albino, and also a little scary.

And then we made snow angels, and caught snowflakes on our tongues, threw snowballs at mum, walked down to the Thames and looked at it, and then had to pack up and take Mum and Brian to dover to get on the boat.


I was paranoid about them being late, as I usually am, and had read the traffic reports saying there were problems en route. So we hurried on out to Dover, thinking we would be able to drop Mum and Brian and then go and have a coffee with them before we left. But there was nowhere at the boat we could go really, they didn't let anyone in who was not going on the boat. So we left them there, Mum had a few sniffles, and off we went.

On the way back, decided to stop in to a National trust property, called Igtham Mote. Its a 13th century moated manor house. It was just gorgeous driving down the country lanes with everything all snowy and beautiful.

Winter wonderland - in the middle of April for Chrissakes!!

So that was the end of another weekend. Back to the Grind.

Not really a blog entry, but a recipe

I just made pickled mushrooms, with a whole lot of other stuff thrown in with it, and it looks like it is going to be really yummy. So I'll put it all down here A) so if anyone wants to try it they can and B) So that when I want to make it again I'll know what I did.

Take 500 gms of small mushrooms, I used chestnut mushrooms, clean them just with paper towel so none of the manure stuff remains.
Finely dice half an onion
Peel a whole head of garlic into cloves.
chop a red capsicum into smallish chunks,
finely slice a red or green chilli.

Throw the lot into a big frypan - I used a wok, over medium-low heat, and add:

150 ml good olive oil
let it saute for a bit, and add about a teaspoon of black pepper (whole or cracked)
a teaspoon of dried italian herbs, and ideally some fresh thyme and oregano
2 Tablespoons of pinenuts

saute for abuot another five minutes, then add

250 ml cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
juice of a lemon

1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of sugar.

If there is not enough liquid to cover the mushrooms, add some water till they are barely covered.
Bring it all to the boil for a minute or two, then spoon into jars which have been sterilised (boil the jars and lids for a couple of minutes in a big pot and then put them in a hot oven for ten minutes to dry) there should be enough liquid in each jar to cover the lot. This batch made about 3 medium to large jars worth.

Let cool, then refrigerate. Can be used straight away or should keep for quite a while in the fridge! The garlic is great used in just about anything - its so good I can just eat it whole though.

There might be a bit of left over liquid - I use this stuff as a salad dressing.

Yummy.

Other than making pickled mushrooms, we have been pretty busy, and I suppose I should get around to writing those blogs. Later.

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Blackberrying

Of the fruity variety, not the electronic gadget variety.

I am amazed at how much food justr grows in this country. On the verges, hedgerows, wherever. There are apples, blackberries, apples, blackberries, nettles (yes you can eat them) and then some more blackberries. So being the hunter gatherer forager type I am, I decided I was going to get me some of this free food.

Just have to find them first. Down by bedmond lane, which is a lane that goes under the motorway and we are widening the bridge, there is a public footpath. These public footpaths criss cross the contryside, ambling through farmers fields and along hedgerows, evenunder motorways. This particular footpath, like many in the country I am sure, is particularly well endowed with Blackberry brambles. The blackberry is a sprawling thorny plant, with long canes that reachup and then dangle down, with masses of thorns, and hopefully, big fat juicy blackberries.

So one afternoon after work, I stopped back down by bedmond lane, fossicked around behing the seats in the car and came up with two cleanish plastic bags that formerly contained muffins. I started up the path, and wow, there were shiny little blackberries everywhere. I don't think it is easy for me to convey just how excited I was about this. I mean, they are berries, and I love berries, and they are for FREE, when you can buythem in the shop for 3 quid a small punnet. So I went a little nuts, pick and picking and picking. Indeed, the plants had pretty much taken over the walkway, and it was more like a duck-weave-carefullystepover-be snagged-way. Never mind the scratches, never mid the itches and the tearing of clothes, I was harvesting blackberries!! So with a large bag full, and bleeding profusely and itching profusely, I thought I'd try my luck further up the lane. BINGO, the biggest, bestest blackberries I have seen. All... right... up high.. and far out in the middle of the patch just out of my reach. Damn. So I circled them, waiting, looking for any opening... and again, BINGO! A large square concrete block - we call them Kelly blocks - was there, just a little way into the brambly patch, and I could get to it by climbing ontp the farmers gate and just stepping over. Yay, I was in big fat blackberry heaven. Doubled the haul right in this spot. Also double the number of nettle stings.

Blackberries are clever little sods. They protect themselves in several ways. The first and most obvious is the thorns of the plant itself. Just like rosebushes really. The second is buy providing the ideal habitat for an array of nast, scary, big pointy teethed spiders. I am not really a spider person, so I got creeped out numerous times byt hings I though were spiders, and actually by two spiders as well. THe third way they protect themselves is by cohabiting with nettles. For anyone who doesn't know about nettles... They bite. A plant that actually bites you, and then you get a little lump come up, and its a very itchy lump.

So by now very itchy, and scratchy, I still didn't quite have enough blackberries for my liking. Two kilos just wasn't going to cut it. Back along the road to another little section, but after the mega patch I had just cleaned out, they were measly and miserable in comparison, so I stole just a few more, and headed home. Via the apple tree at Junction 25 - Richards old work. But the apples aren't quite ripe yet.

So..all these blackberries. Richard doesn't eat them, geez, what am I going to do? Ah HAH. Jam time. So I googled how to make Jam, and got me some sugar with added pectin, a lemon, and a couple of big green cooking apples. Chop these, throw them in thepot with the juice of a lemon, a kilo of sugar, and the well washed berries. Boil for ten minutes. Test to see if the jam will set by putting it on a cold plate and pushing it around then licking it off the plate. Yep, its ready!! I cannot believe how easy it is to make jam! Its so simple, I wonder why anyone buys the stuff when they can pick the berries and make it for free....

Into the jars (wash and boiled) and lids on. I now have four big jars of apple and blackberry jam, and its really yummy. That should last me a while!!

Then we went to Norfolk on the Friday, I'll get around to posting that blog soon.

The aftermath of the blackberry jam volcano.

English drivers.

They are the best of Drivers, they are the worst of drivers. On the whole, apart from no one ever indicating, I would have to say people are pretty good, but the worst really do drag the average down. (Actually I am almost certain that BMWs aren't fitted with indicators over here. I've never seen one with them on)

For example, if you are waiting at a T section to pull out onto a busy road, someone will slow down and flash their lights to say, c'mon, you can go now. Usually this is the very last car in the queue and if he just kept on driving, you could have pulled out anyway. But hey, the thought was there. Considerate.
Then when two lanes merge into one? Forget it, no one will let you in. In fact, once you are all merging, people even pull out of the right lane over in to the left lane - or even left of the left lane - and over take on the inside to form THREE lanes of merging traffic when there really should only be two.

Or like the idiot I nearly crashed into today. Its a three lane roundabout. The left two lanes are straight ahead only, and the right lane is right turn only. I am going straight, and am, appropriately, in the middle lane. About to exit the roundabout, and the guy in the left lane next to me decides he wants to turn right, so he does. Right in front of me, without the use of indicators. Beautiful move. I am so used to this kind of rubbish now that I actually remember to hit the horn in time before he drives off, usually by the time I remember to honk in anger they are long gone. Yay for me. I need a louder horn.

Oh thats is barely the start of it. Working on the motorway you do see some funny things. Funny as in oh my god I can't believe he just did that and is still alive. When you are driving in roadworks, they have 'free recovery' so that when you break down, they spot you on the CCTV cameras, and a man in a towtruck comes out and gets you and brings you back to our compound, where you can then arrange for the removal/repair of your vehicle. They also bring back all the crashed cars. I think there are about 8 tow trucks, and they are always busy, and we see loads of good bingles brought into the yard. Last Thursday there were five big heavy haulage trucks all got towed in and parked out along the length of our (very long) driveway. These guys cruise along with the front of the truck two foot behind the back of the one in front of it at 40 or 50 miles per hour.... so when one has to stop suddenly, well, its the old concertina effect. Bumper to rear to bumper to rear.

Thats my rant for now.

Don't even get me started on pedestrians.

around town

Here's a few photos I took on my wanderings today

1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf. London's tallest building.
Moorings near Canary wharf, looking out to the Millenium Dome.

Getting around in Covent Garden

Good ol' Tower Bridge

Twirling flags on tower bridge

I went into town with Trish, tried to take some phots for Home of Poi's photo comp that's on at the moment, and tried to go shopping in Covent Garden.

Shopping over here is not great, in my opinion. Firstly, I don't have the brand recognition that I do at home. I can't go, "oh, i need a top to go out in, I'll go to Live, or Myer, or wherever" Its really hit and miss. And the fashion over here is just a bit silly. Many, many, English girls where the stupidest things, especially things that are totally inappropriate to their body shape (and the time of day). I did end up finding something - a little bit unusual for me - in a little tiny boutique near the markets at Covent Garden. I'll see if I ever wear it.

And shoe shopping. Don't even want to go there, it's abysmal.

Right now I have a pair of hiking boots, the black boots I bought in 1994 with my first paycheck (and still going strong) a pair of crocs, and the flat leather sandals I bought last week. Plus CAT stell capped work boots. That's it. No shoes to go out in. Can't find any.

AAARGH. Maybe Zu do mail order.

Catchup

Well, I've not been on here much. It's all to do with work, and then commuting. It's got knobs on it.

Last weekend I went up to Play festival - an 'object manipulation' festival (read: fire twirling) in Shropshire, about 2/3 of the way up the welsh border with England, and 30 miles into England from the border. It was about a 3 1/2 hour drive from home.
The festival was held on a lovely organic farm, and there was lots of workshops and stuff, a great main show on Saturday night, and got to catch up with some people I have met before, and meet new ones. It was good.

Now its back to work. I am still doing the same stuff: digging ponds, and building access roads to them. Plus we are starting landscaping on the completed bits of the sides of the motorway, so that will keep me busy too.

Richard is back on suicide watch at his new job. Wants to throw himself under a truck. (Note: this is a joke, he wouldn't really do that... I think!) But it's how he feels about his job. He's very very busy, and doing a hell of a lot more than he should be. But that's our Rich.

At the moment we have no real upcoming plans.... We think we should take a weekend away somewhere soon though. Gotta have something to look forward to.