My Graduation

Apart from my wedding day and the birth of my two children, yesterday was undoubtedly the proudest day of my life. From start to finish I had THE most wonderful day. It was held at the Barbican Theatre in the City of London and I couldn't have been more pleased that this was my venue.

I treasured my family being there with me

to share my special day

Son Jonathan

Daughter Emma

and hubby John

The weather couldn't have been better, the sun shone all day

After the ceremony the respective partners joined us for a surprise visit to Claridges in the West End for cocktails

before dining at  

A fabulous day with some wonderful memories.

Bye for now and have a great weekend

x

The tide's out

Making the most of some late summer sun we recently took an early evening stroll to our local fishing village at Leigh on Sea which takes on a whole different look when the tide's out.

Where fishing boats patiently await the return of the next tide to 

bring home another fine catch

and where the crunchy cockleshell beach is left in the tide's wake

Meanwhile, the fishing nets are hung out to dry 

plenty of rust and rope lying around the various nooks and crannies

 The many cobbled streets

take you to little alleyways which overlook the harbour

and the shore beyond

On dry land an abundance of fish and seafood stalls welcome visitors
where locally caught cockles, mussels, winkles and crab can be eaten



and where plenty of old fishermen's cottages line the streets





Sadly it's time to say goodnight to Punch and Judy




before lighting up time

and of course we couldn't miss some early evening sustenance 

before making our way home

Back again soon

x

Leftovers

I normally cook a Sunday roast most weekends and very often use the leftovers to make either a Shepherds/Cottage pie, depending on whether its lamb or beef. Chicken is normally turned into a pasta and chicken bake or something similar. Today however, I've made some Rissoles. I haven't made these for a long time. In fact I used to have a Jimmy Young Cook book back in the 70s which was very popular at the time, all the recipes coming from members of the public and cobbled together to produce a selection of everyday meals - my rissoles being one of them. This book hasn't been around for years and like many other obsolete items in our house is probably in the dark depths of my loft - another story.

By courtesy of Google

My sisters and I are in the throes of putting together a cook book of all the meals we can remember from our childhood that our mum used to make us as well as our own favourite recipes we've cooked or baked over the years. This, we intend passing onto our own children, to be passed on and on and on. More about this another time when finally published/printed.........

Anyway my sister happened to still have her Jimmy Young book and I was delighted to find the old recipe for rissoles and I took a photo of the recipe on my phone.

So here it is...

Savoury Rissoles

12 ozs leftover minced cooked meat
2 tomatoes
1 onion chopped (I blitzed the tomatoes and onions together in food processor to make them finer)
1 tablespoon dry sage and onion stuffing mix
2 standard eggs, separated
3ozs fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon gravy browning
salt and pepper

Method

Mix the minced meat with the tomatoes, onion, stuffing mix and gravy powder. If the mixture is too dry add a little water, then bind together with the two yolks and one egg white. Season to taste. Roll with floured hands into little sausage shapes then dip in the egg white and roll in the breadcrumbs. Fry in a little oil until golden brown. Serve with creamed potatoes and peas or mushrooms.

I halved the quantities for the two of us but I found the mixture very moist so added a bit of flour. I didn't have any gravy browning so that might have helped. Definitely wouldn't use all the egg and probably next time would add more stuffing mix. Trial and error comes to mind.

So here they are (not quite the sausage shapes intended) just about to go in the fridge to firm up before cooking tonight. 

See you soon x

What the heck....

If any of my neighbours were looking out of their windows this morning they'd have wondered what the heck I was doing - watering my garden when we'd just had a heavy shower of rain!!

Well there is an explanation. My garden is overshadowed by about 15 - 20 very tall and very mature conifer trees planted by our neighbours over the back before we came here over thirty years ago. We've always had problems with the grass drying out in the summer where the roots suck up any moisture. Added to which, the trees drop their needles and a sticky sap all over the plants and paved area which in turn can kill some weaker plants.

A consequence of which, after many years of plants not growing or failing to survive, we dug up the back border and had a 2ft block paving strip put in so that we could plant our shrubs in pots and which we could change around as and when necessary.

It works quite well most of the time

However, because our back garden faces north - the sun is drawing the darn trees over the garden fence and creating a roof-like structure

and when we sit on the garden bench this is what we see

So - not only does the rain not go anywhere near my pots, but the roots from the trees dry out the lawn. I love my garden and to be fair the trees do provide a great deal of privacy but they are a pain. The people do have them lopped every two years but only about 4 or 5 foot which does give us a bit of light back but doesn't solve the problem.

 We've only got a small garden and like to use every bit of space so we've learnt to make the most of the other aspects of the garden which is taking on a very Autumnal feel about it now.

and I've just finished planting up my winter flowering Pansies, Cyclamen and some lovely heathers.

I do like a bit of colour outside to take me through the winter months.

 That's all for now and I'll see you again soon.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post - I really do appreciate them.

x

The Gym? ...or not the Gym?

I've been toying with the idea recently of joining a Gym simply because I feel the need to get fit, having lost a fair few pounds over the past six months. I need toning up and think swimming might be just the job. So I've made enquiries at our local Gym (a well-known nationwide consortium). They quoted me £44 per month off peak (9am to 3pm) which would include the swims. I decided to mull it over.

Yesterday, once I'd dropped the boys off at school I took myself off for a walk around one of our local commons.

It was so peaceful, you could hear a pin drop. I walked for about 45 minutes, listening to the birds, watching the squirrels burying their acorns, said lots of 'good mornings' to the plethora of dog walkers, taking in the flora around me and generally enjoyed the fresh air.

This made me realise how lucky I am to have so many lovely walking places all within a stone's throw of home.

Several commons

Various woodlands

Several Country Parks

Many marshlands

An abundance of riverside walks

plenty of beaches

and in all directions

You know where I'm coming from don't you!

All this for FREE on my doorstep as against £528 per year at the Gym where I'd struggle to get there twice a week in the permitted times, the car park is always full to capacity, the exercise equipment chock-a-block, classes invariably need to be booked at least seven days in advance and you have to pick the right time for a swim to avoid the aquarobic classes. Now I'm not knocking it - each to their own, but I know what I prefer.

So - onwards and upwards. Cold weather doesn't bother me - wet weather might, but at least I can pick my times to suit my fancy.

Have a great weekend 

x