Turning to Autumn

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Having a super-busy week.

Been to Lichfield and admired the cathedral before doing some work there, been to Sutton Coldfield for an enjoyable meeting, have done a Macmillan coffee morning in Warwick with a lovely group of ladies, attended 2 meetings in the evenings. Today I'm speaking at a meeting in Solihull (great Jimmy Spices lunch though!) and then trotting off to deliver goody bags for a Yummy Mummy event on Saturday and tomorrow I have get up and leave at ridiculous o'clock and drive to Southampton (will be a fab meeting when I get there though)

I have enjoyed all the autumn scenery on my travels - that has been a real highlight of this week.
Off for a drink and to have a nice yellow plum now....just to keep me going until that lunch....

Blackberrying (or brambling if you live in Scotland)

This morning we took a walk...within a minute from our front door we are down a country lane and walking towards the fields.

Today was a great day as we were blessed with blue skies and sunshine and we decided to pick blackberries. We got lots of these and some windfall apples too. There were plenty left for others who might want to go picking today. Such a shame that so many of these hedgerow foods are going to waste.

From that little lot I've made some blackberry sauce which we will freeze and use at Christmas-time and we will have blackberry and apple crumble this evening and I'm stewing some apples to make apple sauce plus I'm half way through making a jar or two of apple and blackberry jam. Can't wait to try that on some warm croissants - it looks very pretty bubbling away in the pan.

Recipes from Edinburgh

When we went to church in Edinburgh they were doing a lovely thing after lunch - a charity recipe swap. People brought recipes and read them out...if you wanted a copy you put some money in a tin and the funds raised went to buy tools in an African country.
I thought this was a great idea.
Here are some of the ones I bought....

Honey BBQ Chicken
2oz butter
4oz onions - chopped
1 clove garlic
1 can tomatoes
2 tblsp Worcester sauce
1 tblsp honey
seasoning
leftover chicken (can be cooked after Sunday dinner)

Combine butter, onions & garlic - fry. Add toms, Worc sauce, honey & chicken. Season. Cook gently for 1/2 hour. If you like hotter add tabasco.
Serve with potatoes, rice or couscous.

Whatever You Like Muffins
50g butter
150g SR flour
50g caster sugar
half tsp baking powder
1 egg
110 ml milk
120g of "whatever you like" eg chocolate chips, blueberries, apple & cinnamon or berries

Oven 200/400 or gas mark 6

Melt butter in saucepan
Sieve flour and add sugar & baking powder in a bowl
Break egg whisk in a separate bowl
Add egg & milk to the melted butter
Then add the flour mix to the saucepan - mix lightly, not a lot
Add "whatever you like"
Divide mixture into muffin cases & place on a muffin tray
Bake for around 20 mins

The next one is a medieval recipe....it keeps 2/3 weeks in the fridge if left unsliced
Date Slices with Spiced Wine
800g stoneless black dates
425ml medium dry white wine
75g soft brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
6 hard boiled egg yolks
175g soft brown breadcrumbs (not wholemeal)
45-60mls Madeira wine with a pinch of mixed spice

Break up the dates and simmer with the wine & sugar until pulpy
Pound or food process (not very medieval!) until almost smooth
Mix in spices and work in the egg yolks
In a bowl knead in enough breadcrumbs to make the mixture as stiff as marzipan.
Form into a 5cm diameter roll and chill until firm
Cut into 5mm slices
Arrange overlapping on a plate and trickle a drop or two of cooled spiced wine over each slice

Fat Elvis Sandwich
2 slices white bread
peanut butter
1 banana- sliced
4oz butter

Lightly toast the bread and spread PB on both slices. Place slices of banana on top and make into a sandwich. Melt butter in a frying pan and fry for seven minutes until brown on both sides.

I love this sandwich but have never tried it toasted/hot before but I got bananas at the supermarket this morning to try it this weekend. Yummy!

Steve

On our journey home we found out that our friend Steve had lost his battle with cancer. We mourn this loss and pray that God will comfort his little family and look after them until we see him again.

1 Corinthians 15:51,52
"Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

Home now

We are now home and catching up with emails, letters, bills and things we should have done before we left!
I am preparing posters for our open day at church next month and Mike is trying to make progress on getting our drawings and planning permission organised for the loft conversion at the new house. We hope to get keys at the end of this month and then the work will begin - a daunting thought! The next month is busy for me with lots of charity events and I'm not sure how we will fit it all in...it will happen somehow!
This break has been a really good grace period to rest us for the weeks and months ahead.

Grace Darling

Grace Darling lived in a lighthouse with her family. Aged just 22 she helped her father save the lives of 9 shipwrecked people from the rocks. She had to row her coble (boat) backwards and forwards to avoid the boat being smashed on the rocks that surrounded her home. She was a national hero but didn't enjoy the attention as it interrupted her daily work too much!
Sadly four years later aged 26 she became ill with and died. She is buried in the graveyard at St Aidans in Bamburgh.

Our last day...

We were sad to leave the oasis B&B which had been so relaxing for us especially as the owner is selling so we are unlikely to be able to return there.

We crossed the border and headed south to Bamburgh. Again I had been here as a child but had no memory of it although I was delighted to find the Grace Darling museum (more later) - all refurbished - which had so entranced me back then.
The rain was back on so we had scones in the cafe, looked at the castle then walked on the beach - it was bracing and wonderful - before going to check out the museum.

We headed home, stopping in Yorkshire - a surprise visit to Mike's parents who fed us before returning late to Kenilworth.

Melrose

I know I was here as a child but I didn't remember it at all...and was delighted to rediscover it. Such a cute town. We walked a little over the river Tweed which was really high and gushing (first day in the Borders without rain) and up the other side, had lunch in a hotel which sadly wasn't a good choice, looked in a nice gardening shop, the bookshop (not enough time for me!) and then headed on to St Boswells where we sat on the village green in the sun.

Edinburgh

After a wonderful breakfast - fresh fruit, cooked English (with potato scone!) homemade bread and jam, warm oatcakes we headed off to church in Edinburgh. This was a real bonus of the fair being cancelled as we wouldn't have had a chance to see all our friends there otherwise.
We stayed for their fellowship lunch and chatted and then went home with our friends to their house to catch up with them. Mike made a Lego house with the kids (Lego is 50 years old this year and they have brought out special edition gold bricks - who knew?!)
Ros made us wonderful seafood chowder which I loved and then we had glittery ice cream with the kids before I read "Each Peach Pear Plum" with them - what a cool book!
Mike had a go on their new toy - the iJoy...good fun!

Scottish Borders

From Glasgow we headed across to Kelso early on Saturday morning as I was meant to be doing a stall at the St James Fair there (our reason for the trip north) . Unfortunately when we arrived (in the rain) we were told that the fair had been cancelled. It was a real shame as it's a fabulous town fair with all sorts of old country skills being demonstrated and great food stalls to sample.
So we had some bacon butties and tea in the car and watched the rain lashing the windscreen, then decided to go buy me a kagoul so that we could make the most of the day but after buying this we decided it really was way too soggy to attempt a walk anywhere so we went to The Hirsel in Coldstream which was lovely. We bought some jewellery for presents at The Crossing Borders Art Trail.
We also went to Teviot Smokery just south of Kelso. I was tempted to buy smoked duck but we still had 3 days to go before heading home so I think I will try the mail order option for that instead. We had smoked duck as our wedding starter and we would like to have it at home.

After this we headed to our B&B which was really great. We arrived and had tea and muffins in the drawing room while our room was prepared. We had a gigantic bed...I struggled to get in and out of it as it was so high! There was a whisky decanter in our room and a huge bath. We appreciated both of these to recover from all the damp weather.

Birthday Meal

It was my mums birthday when we were up in Scotland so we went to our favourite place - Stazione - for dinner.
Mike hadn't been before which is amazing considering how often we have been! Stazione is inside an old station - it's a lovely building on Gt. Western Road, but a shame that trains don't run on this route anymore.
Mum and I had trout with a smoked salmon sauce...perfect.
Mike seemed especially pleased with his pudding!

Scotland Trip

We drove up last Wednesday evening through some fantastic lightning...it's great on the motorway when that happens as you get to see the whole
expanse across the sky.


On Thursday we slept late at my parents' house, had porridge and then walked up The Whangie (aka Queens View) with views to Loch Lomond.
It has been a while since we have walked here and the weather was perfect for it. We saw scottish harebells and watched the swallows swooping around.
Afterwards we went on to Balmaha, stood on the shore of the loch and popped into The Oak Tree for a quick drink before heading home.

Holograms in Rugby

On Mum and Dad's last day with us I took them to a Hologram Exhibition that was being held in Rugby. It was really excellent, we enjoyed it a lot. There was a film about how they were made but after watching it I still have no idea!

Afterwards we went to Ryton Organic Gardens for lunch, baked potatoes, soup, cream scone for Dad and then we headed home, did a bit of shopping and then cooked roast lamb and apple pie for our final dinner together.
Mum and Dad headed back to Scotland the next morning.

Day 3 - Portmeirion

Another trip back here was lovely. The weather wasn't quite so kind but there was an orchestra playing so that was very nice. We wandered, had coffee, milkshakes and muffins, did a little shopping and then headed back home to Warwickshire through beautiful welsh valleys, lots of sheep, trees, water. Idyllic.
Had risotto at home before collapsing into bed.

Day 2 - The Ffestiniog Railway

A day for the boys.... we went on the train ride to Porthmadog (what a funny place, it was rainy so perhaps we didn't see the best of it) I read my book on the train, Mum looked out the window and Mike and Dad loved it all.
We had more good food in town, it was a bit quieter too as the Bank Holiday people seemed to have left.

Wales Trip - Day 1 - Welshpool

We headed off quite early on a Sunday morning with my parents. First stop was Welshpool where we had a picnic and then Dad and Mike went on the train there. Mum and I drove and picked them up at the other end where we had a drink while we waited for the train to arrive. Then we drove on to Betws-y-Coed. Mike and I had been here earlier in the year and I wanted to take Mum and Dad to visit too.
We stayed in the Gorphwysfa B&B - the breakfast was 4 course and totally amazing. It reminded us of Canada. It was a nice 10 minute walk into town from there. We had fish and chips in the cafe on the first night...so good (we had been there before too!)

Birds at Brandon

Our friend was getting close to a "special birthday" and wanted to see a kingfisher before the big day so a group of us girls headed out to Brandon Marsh and had a lovely Friday afternoon there.

We saw lapwings, ducks, geese, waders and the elusive kingfisher finally appeared...what a success!

A great trip out and a good cafe stop too...very yummy.

Singing & Supper

We enjoyed a girlie sing-song at R's house and afterwards shared a buffet supper.
Her poor hubby stayed well out of the way til late!
Misty the cat stayed and enjoyed all the attention.

Birthday

Our niece was 6 in August...we were invited along to share her birthday tea.

It was High School Musical madness! What fun to be six years old!

Trip to Mike's parents

It was a bit of a rainy weekend... we stopped off to see M's grandpa and his uncle who was visiting there for the weekend and had tea with them (fab Melton Mowbray pork pie) then crossed over the hills to his parents.
On Saturday we went to the Railway Museum in York...went on the big wheel there but it was a bit foggy, fun though.
Went to Wyke and met some of his parents friends on Sunday and then home on Monday.