Tag Archives: food

Effective but dirty

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Roses road train

The speed of light – and therefore time – increases again. I don’t care what anyone says: I’m from Yorkshire. Well, no, I’m not, but nevertheless time does seem to be hurtling past, and I don’t seem to be achieving an awful lot. Certainly not on Tuesday, when the Broadband was down for several hours. As we all know, when Broadband is down it’s like a newspaper strike. Nothing happens.

It was also the day the accountant came, and we spent some time trying to open one of Barbara’s files, which was in some outlandish open source software, and compressed to boot. Gave up in the end, because we couldn’t access the internet to find out how it might be opened. Went back to the pigeon.

Last Saturday we went to a concert at St Augustine’s, and on the way discovered that it was part of the Magdalen/St Augustine’s Festival, which aspires to be a kind of mini-Notting Hall. The concert was in three parts, of which we saw the first two – an organ recital, which was strangely dampened and attended by very few people; and some music from a violin, a cello and an organist who doubled as an amazing counter-tenor. More people at that one, and some of it was very good. But I think a few songs from Far Cry would not have been out of place.

On that theme, I have today printed out 24 song booklets for church, each of them containing 20 of my songs (words only). I should be able to produce music versions: I can write music, but I can’t think of any way to do it that would be useful. Lack of imagination and a touch of laziness thwart most things.

I have also been judging the Two Valleys Poetry Competition for the second year running. At first the entries seemed unexceptional, but on closer examination there are a number of pretty good ones, and it’s been hard to make a final choice.

Much of the rest of the time has been spent on being church treasurer, including the usual trip into the city yesterday to pay in cheques. This occurred  after a lunchtime visit by the Higbees, before they rushed down to Bedford to babysit their granddaughter, Arianna. Dot did a rather nice curry, following up her triumph the previous night of butternut squash and potato soup for the Tuesday Group. The Higbees also bought a patio cleaner for Dot to try out, and she got so enthusiastic that she did the whole of the back garden area while I went into the city. Effective but dirty, rather like the Roses road train.

Good food day on Sunday. We started with lunch at church – soup and rolls left over from the aforementioned festival – and proceeded to North Walsham for mince pies at Jessie’s. She makes a mean mince pie. Home through pouring rain and up to Loch Fyne for an evening meal, purely to obtain a free bottle of wine for which we had a voucher. Loch Fyne meals are good, though on this occasion service was very slow. But maybe spending £50 to get a free bottle if wine is not the most economical thing to do.

The best of times, the worst of times

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Where the railroad crosses

It’s that worst of times: the last day of a holiday when your plane doesn’t leave till evening, and you hang around wondering what can go wrong and making desultory attempts at packing. Unless you’re David, that is, and then you make extremely long phone calls.

The children woke up late (for them) because of an unexpected event the previous day – the return of the Vanderkooys. We had spent much of a very hot day inside the World Science Centre in the Don Valley area of Toronto – an imaginatively constructed building that tumbles down a ravine in what might be called an ordered state. We visited some reptiles and then (after lunch) an interactive area that the children loved. I was impressed, but not with the acres of children’s groups who increased the decibel level and reduced the floor area. I was also impressed with the Omnimax film, Hubble, which kept the children spellbound, and the adults too.

Lots of traffic on the 401, but we eventually emerged on to the 427, picked up speed and then stopped for (even more) food shopping. Very hot indeed at this point, but it cooled slightly before the Vanderkooys arrived for supper. Joyous reunions all round, and celebrations into the night. They eventually departed for home around 10pm, Oliver and Amy fell into bed, and the rest of us chatted for a while before doing the same.

It’s now 2.15pm, the FedEx lady has delivered a parcel for Barbara, and everyone except me is in the pool area. a couple of days ago the children, Dot and I went into Bolton to do various bits of shopping and to look at some local scenery, including the place where the railroad crosses Mount Hope Road. Magical stuff.

Perfectly positioned in the middle of nowhere

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Yes, it's another flower picture: the legendary snowdrop walk at Walsingham

On an uncharacteristically springlike day last Thursday, Dot and I decided to go to Walsingham for the snowdrop walk. As she needed to go to the chemist first to obtain relief for persistent mouth ulcers, we took a somewhat unusual route, crossing to Aylsham and then taking the road past Blickling Hall to Saxthorpe (near Little London) and then on through Melton Constable, the only Midland coal-mining town in Norfolk. Not really coal-mining, of course: it just looks like it. The railway is really to blame: oddly, Melton Constable used to be the hub of Norfolk’s railway system. Perfectly positioned in the middle of nowhere. What were they thinking?

From there a beautiful high road (high for Norfolk, that is) stretches across to the main Cromer-Lynn road and from there it was a short distance north to Walsingham, via Great Snoring. Now that’s what I call a Norfolk village. Negotiating the maze that is Walsingham, we found the car park and had a lunchtime snack – deliberately small to make up for the lovely but substantial meal we had enjoyed the previous evening at Cafe Rouge in Norwich, where I at last managed to make use of my Gourmet Society card. I do like Cafe Rouge: the food is always good, and the service friendly.

Walsingham was pretty crowded for February – it was half-term, after all – but the walk in the priory grounds (they call it an Abbey, but technically it isn’t) was very pleasant, despite some slight muddiness. The temperature was mild enough for me to leave my anorak in the car, and I was glad I did. Short look round the museum and old courthouse afterwards, and of course we had to pop into the shop, where I unexpectedly bought a book critiquing Stephen Hawking’s theory that we don’t need God any more. I’ve already read it (it was very short), and found it lucid, convincing and surprisingly funny.

I’ve also finished another couple of books recently: Surface Detail by Iain M Banks, and The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, by Heinrich Böll (translated from the German). I love Banks’ SF Culture novels, and this was up to par, though unnecessarily gruesome in places. The Culture civilisation itself is a wonderful idea, which I just tried to describe here, but have deleted my description on the grounds that it sounds silly when the Culture is in fact marvellous. I like to think of them as angels, but when they are in fact massive ships with lightning-fast Minds, they’re probably not everyone’s idea of an angel. Take it from me, they’re a lot better than they sound.

I’ve always liked Böll, and this short novel is typically crisp and typically Continental, in a good way. It’s about the way the media can distort and destroy someone who is basically innocent, but done in a deadpan, unemotional style. I’m not sure any modern European newspaper would sink to the the depths portrayed here, but the warning note is true.

Very wet journey to Martham on Friday night, standing in as a guest for our chess C-team, who often seem to run out of players. Odd game: missed a move early on that would have given me a big advantage, then nothing much happened for a long time until I recklessly broke through and gave him some play as a result. Then made a very bad move that accidentally turned out much better than it should have, and I would almost certainly have won in a complex position, but I was very short of time. I think I was right to accept his offer of a draw, because I would almost certainly have lost on time otherwise. On the way home in pouring rain I almost aquaplaned off the A47, but just held it on the road. So I nearly lost twice.

On Saturday we met Heather Savigny and Simon for lunch at Bishop’s, which is quite a high-class restaurant run by the father of one of Sam’s friends. Excellent meal of the Green-Inn type. Planning to take the Higbees there as a thank-you for Allan lighting up our loft. Spent a lot of time discussing Heather’s fight for equal rights at the university, which is apparently run by intransigent white males. Surprising: I had thought UEA was more radical.

I did sermon at church yesterday on part of Romans 8, and the process going on in creation. Paul writing about entropy roughly 1800 years before it was discovered (or given a name, anyway). Today Dot is en route to Eltham College for a P4C session with Barbara. I should get a lot done, or, if previous experience is anything to go by, not much.

Naked feet on the edge of the bath

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Red ball
Part of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, this giant red ball will be appearing in various parts of the city. Yesterday it made its debut outside the station.

Got quite a bit of work done on the book yesterday, and also fitted in painting the bathroom ceiling: well, parts of the bathroom ceiling, after Dot revealed that she had in fact painted it last year. So I was just painting over a couple of deteriorating bits, and now it all looks brand new. I was prepared for it to drip all over the place, so painted in old shorts and a T-shirt, with naked feet. Actually naked feet came in useful for standing on the edge of the bath.

The book is a bit odd: parts of it are quite professionally written, but then you come to a paragraph that’s barely English. Ah well; it shouldn’t take too long, though I’m feeling a bit below par today. This may be because I think I have another UT infection, or it may be the really lousy weather (wet and cold) or it may be because I got very little sleep last night after a late meal at Delia’s Restaurant with the Robinsons. The meal was excellent and quite reasonably priced, but late eating doesn’t suit my metabolism, what with the sherry, vodka and wine. Not excessive; oh, no. Just a bit too varied. Had interesting conversation with Philip Robinson about the Election and What Happens Now. If pressed to compare Delia’s with the Swan, the Swan would just get my vote. But Delia’s is good.

Today has not been great so far, especially as Norwich City managed to finish the season in triumph with a pretty pathetic 2-0 defeat – just what you want when they’re going to present you with a trophy. But the Higbees will be joining us for egg curry later. Annette and Mike have cried off with illness, and I tried to contact others to join us, but was unsuccessful. Dot is feeling a bit down after knocking her glass butterfly onto the floor and breaking it. Hope this does not affect the weather thousands of miles away. Perhaps someone has broken a butterfly in China.

Delicious remains

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Blossom in the Rosary

Caroline’s poetry book launch party at Fakenham on Monday turned out to be brilliant, with crowds of people sardined into her terraced house, and just enough room for her and her friend Dee to punctuate the afternoon with songs and poetry. It was a cold, windy day, so inside was a good place to be. At first we knew no-one but Caroline, but later Annette and Mike turned up, plus Martin Laurance and Geoffrey Lefever, another artist from Bally. Also Kay Riggs, one of the Paston poets. Met quite a few new people, and renewed acquaintance with Alex Gilfillan, who used to be a subs’ runner at the Eastern Daily Press about the same time as David. She is also the daughter of Susan Lee (a former sub) and a niece of Caroline. She now has a husband and two young girls. Good to see her again.

Interesting week food-wise. As well as some lovely sweet items at Caroline’s, we have also benefited from the delicious remains of the church Sunday lunch at our Tuesday Group evening, and braved an adventurous paella at a friend’s birthday meal yesterday. The adventure consisted largely in deciding how much of the chicken to eat, as it was clearly undercooked, but there was also the added challenge of sitting down at the table, as the house was beyond description: to use the word cluttered would be an understatement of huge proportions. Six of us managed to get near enough to the table to eat, and the sweet was actually good, but there was not a lot of hanging around afterwards. Dot offered to wash up, but it became clear that there was actually nowhere to put anything. Felt like ordering a skip and depositing the entire contents of the house into it. Make that several skips.

At the other extreme, this morning we called on my aunt Josephine in her immaculate Cringleford bungalow and had some lovely scones and biscuits. Very civilised. Spent a long time talking. Tomorrow we are going to Delia’s Restaurant with the Robinsons to celebrate Anne’s birthday, and on Saturday we are having friends round here. From the sublime to the very ordinary, in a few minutes we are having fish fingers. Earlier we had our hair cut and tomorrow we shall have what to do after firing – no, wait, that’s a poem by Henry Reed. Earlier still Dot and I played a round of pitch and putt on Mousehold and both broke 100. This may not seem much of an achievement, but it is a long time since we played. We were pretty evenly matched. Just before that we went and voted (differently). I changed my mind as I approached the polling station, and still probably got it wrong.

Anyway, the more important selection story of the week was Spurs qualifying for the Champions League by finishing fourth in the Premiership, beating Manchester City 1-0 away to do so. So a good season for both Spurs and Norwich, who seem to mirror each other’s ups and downs surprisingly often. Meanwhile the bank cleared a large cheque just in time for me to pay my credit card bill, which was nice. Getting on well with the book editing, though I didn’t manage to fit any in today. Planning to give it a real go tomorrow.

Road movie

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icicles
Icicles lining the highway in Kentucky

We’re now safely in Captiva, at 15098 Urchin Court, the place we stayed last time. Very comfortable and relaxing – at least I would be comfortable and relaxed if the cold I’ve been fighting off since the plane flight hadn’t eventually broken through. I was coughing a lot in the night, and I’ve persuaded the others to go off to breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe and leave me here. The temperature is warm, but not as warm as last time.

The journeying has gone well. We left six days ago at 10am in much different weather conditions: around freezing, but not unpleasant. Took the train to Liverpool Street and then decided on a cab to Paddington, which was the right decision, though it cost $20 (that’s pounds, but I’ll sort it out eventually). The Heathrow express was brilliant, landing us very quickly at Terminal 5, with which we were extremely impressed. Dropped bags and got through Security with no trouble. The flight was uneventful, though a bit chilly, and the food was surprisingly good. Curry for main meal, egg and spring onion sandwiches just before Toronto.

Met by strange waving couple who turned out to be Barb and Roger. They drove us back to Palmer Circle. Not much snow on the roads, but a nice aesthetic covering there. To bed after small supper at 10pm (3am UK). Not a good night – in fact sleeping proved to be quite a problem for several days – but went into Bolton with Roger in the morning. Sunglasses had got broken on the way, so replaced them with $9 pair from Walmart, much to Barb’s disgust. She and Dot were elsewhere. Not quite sure exactly where that was. In the evening we watched Mr & Mrs Smith, which was clever, funny and pseudo-violent. Just managed to stay awake for denouement.

Next day was just above freezing, and there some early swirls of snow. Drove into Toronto for lunch at Serra (goat’s cheese followed by pasta special) and then to the King Tut exhibition. Pretty impressive, especially the huge statue of Akhanatem, his father. Wrote poem about it. Three most ridiculous items in King Tut shop: 1 Tutchoo tissue box cover; 2 inflatable mummy; 3 baseball. Two most ridiculous rules: Roger had to go back and queue up to get the tickets redated, which then proved to be unnecessary; we weren’t allowed to sit on the steps. No, really. Back home through rush-hour traffic, then packed ready for 9am start the next day (Thurs 18th).

Left almost on the dot. Weather dull, but it brightened up as we neared Detroit. Stopped at Windsor for quick refreshment, then were held up for 40 minutes or so at border, but everyone was very pleasant. Then headed south through Michigan and Ohio to Cincinnati, where we stopped for a delicious lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. On to Williamsburg, Kentucky where we arrived after 10pm at the Columbia Inn. Splendid setting, but the room was a bit noisy (facing highway), and they seemed a bit understaffed. In America, everyone assumes you drink coffee.

Getting a bit warmer as we headed south again on the I75 through mountainous country (the Columbian Plateau), with spectacular icicles on the rocks, but not much snow. Lunch at the Buckhead Diner in Atlanta, Georgia: again superb food (veal meatloaf and mashed potatoes) and service. Very long last leg south after this. Barbara drove out of Atlanta in heavy traffic, and I did a three-hour stint taking us from south of Macon into Florida – the last part of it in the dark. Roger then took over, and we arrived in Sarasota after 11pm. Superb hotel – room was a suite, and it was quiet. And I could get a cup of tea.

Better night, and after a leisurely breakfast we left just after 10am. Temperature really warm now, and we watched it creep up to a maximum of 24C as we neared Captiva. Dropped away from that slightly, but very pleasant as we arrived at the house around 1am, but found it wasn’t quite ready for us. So went up to Starbucks and did a very little shopping. House excellent as expected: unpacked and Barb and Dot disappeared down the beach. Roger and I went to American Realty to get an extra key, then walked along the beach and over to the dock. In the evening we went to Traders, and I had the filet mignon special, which was special. Bought a baseball cap and called at video shop on way home. Watched State of Play, interrupted by frequent coughing from me. Had very disturbed night.

12 May 2009

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This is the article I mentioned last time. No, I know you can’t read it, but it’s evidence…

Dot and Anne returned safely from the hen night just after 1am. Dot extremely unimpressed with the night club they went to: the drinks were sweet and unpleasant, and the alcohol content was barely detectable; the noise felt as if it was destroying body tissue. They had a good meal at Cafe Uno first, though.

Haven’t been particularly well, but got through Sunday “in charge” at St Augustine’s. At about one minute to 11, there were about three people there. We ended up with 22, which isn’t bad. Felt it went quite well. After lunch (and watching the F1 Grand Prix from Barcelona, which Button won), we went out to North Walsham, left flowers in the cemetery, where the wind was way beyond chilly, and ended up at Jessie’s for tea and cake, which is always very enjoyable.

Yesterday we had a mammoth shop at Waitrose – at £145 the most I’ve ever spent in one go on food – in preparation for the arrival of the Murrays from Canada. As I write they are on the 10am from Liverpool Street, having spent an age crossing London in a taxi. Fortunately I have just found an energy bar called Trek, which is tasty and might see me through the first few minutes… Dot has gone to the supermarket to get some flowers, and possibly potatoes. Well, you never know, do you?

21 November 2008

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Latest picture of Dot’s Aunt Ethel, who we visited on Wednesday, after lunching at Park Farm. She was in good spirits. In the evening we went to see Romeo and Juliet, put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Theatre Royal. All very well done – set about half a century ago – but marred somewhat because there were thousands of schoolchildren in, and the ones behind us couldn’t stop talking. I wrote to the manager to complain about it, partly because a couple of couples in our row didn’t come back after the interval, and it is £20 a ticket.

Last night we went with Anne and Philip to St Benedict’s Restaurant for Dot’s birthday meal, which was excellent. I felt I could tackle a steak and mushroom pudding, and it was beautifully done. Philip gave us a lift, which was nice because it was very cold. I have been feeling very tired recently, but paracetamol usually helps, and I felt fine for the evening. Today we went (a little late) to the James Finlay sessions at St Luke’s. He’s a former monk who specialises in Thomas Merton but talks generally about contemplative prayer and allied subjects. Very laid back and (but?) very, very good. I came back home this afternoon because I was tired, but Dot returned after popping into the city and really enjoyed it. One of the reasons I came home was because I want to go this evening, when he’s speaking in the Cathedral. I’ve just taken some paracetamol in anticipation!

Dot and I were supposed to be part of the team gettying stuff ready, but I really wasn’t up to it. Very blustery and cold today, which means several layers are compulsory for the Cathedral. Snow is due tomorrow. Wonder what it’s like in Scarborough…

6 June 2008

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Norwich Cathedral in a sunset sky, taken from our bedroom window and later cropped and straightened! See also Flickr and Cathedral website.

Rather a dismal week, weather-wise, with plenty of rain – especially today, when I went up to the hospital with Dot for my pre-operation assessment. Cyclist nurse Liz very pleasant, with a sense of humour. Everything seems OK, but her warnings of what might follow the operation were a little worrying. I don’t really even want to think about catheters and various other tubes draining things from my body. Still, It’ll all be over by Christmas. Came to the sad conclusion that I will not be able to go to Blakeney for the annual reunion in a couple of weeks’ time.

On Tuesday we had a good gathering for our meal (10, with us), and Dot came up with a scintillating starter involving pears, rocket, watercress, mayonnaise and roquefort cheese sauce. Yes, it was a Delia special. Delicious. On Wednesday, stomach juices on alert again: we went with Jessie to the Rushcutters for lunch, and I had a beef and ale pie that was gorgeous. Yesterday the weather relented a bit and we did a few things that had been waiting for a while: took some rubbish to the tip, some other stuff to a charity shop and booked the MX5 in for an MOT and the Mazda 3 for new tyres at some totally horrendous price approximating to £450. You could get nine tanks of petrol for that.

Parked in the city and had lunch at the Espresso in John Lewis – a favourite place for sandwiches and a cup of tea – or in Dot’s case a large piece of cake and a cup of tea. Then bought me a dressing gown for hospital, a new mobile phone for Dot and picked up tickets from the Theatre Royal box office. These were for an Agatha Christie play in the evening – And Then There Were None, the politically correct new title for Ten Little …. Unusual play in that everyone did it. Theatre sparsely populated: started pouring with rain as we walked home, but we made it without getting soaked.

3 March 2007

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This is Dot on the deck leading off our bedroom. I think hornets may be building a nest there.

In the end the journey to Naples wasn’t too bad, though we were stuck on Periwinkle Way for a long time. Happily, I took a book! We arrived at the theatre nearly an hour and a half early: great consternation because there was no food on sale, and Dot and Barb in particular were hungry. They had to make do with coffee, drunk outside in a courtyard. Lovely setting.

Riverdance was superb – quite stunning in several different ways. The dancing itself was amazing, of course, but I was particularly impressed by the small group of musicians, including a violinist and drummer who were out of this world.

Back in the car by 10.20, we stopped for succour at a filling station: cake and chocolates. Home before midnight.

On the way to Naples, on Highway 41, we were overtaken by a motor cycle. A mile or so further on we found the bike wrecked and the young rider lying on the ground: he had clearly hit a car. He didn’t look at all good, though he wasn’t dead. The difference a few minutes can make…

Yesterday was fairly quiet. Did a bit of grocery shopping with Barb (Roger was painting) and then called at Bowman’s beach on Sanibel. Lovely approach paths through trees and bushes, and a lagoon just behind the sand. The beach itself was quite crowded, though the sea was very perky, and there was intermittent low cloud. Certainly picturesque.

Later went to the dock again. Several manatee about. We booked a trip on a sailing boat for Tuesday.

Evening meal at Dolce Vita, where the ambience was sophisticated, more like a city restaurant, with live music. The food was first class, as was the service. Really good meal. Home by about 8.30 and watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which I found irritating and pretentious. No likeable characters and not much coherence either.

Now Dot and Barbara are up at the pool. Roger has just finished his portrait of Dot – wonderful – and there is the prospect of kayaking this afternoon, though I’m a bit worried about my stomach.