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

The French connection

Hello to you all and thank you for all your lovely comments on my last (two weeks ago) post. I don't know where the time goes.

I must be honest I'm quite looking forward to the Autumn now. The new school year has begun and I can get back into a routine. The school run certainly gets me going in the morning and it's good to plan my week ahead. John is now semi retired - working three days a week so our time is shared between things that need doing against things we want to do and therefore plans are afoot to make for a smooth transition.

In a recent post I touched upon my French connection and as several people wanted to know more I thought I'd fill you in with a bit of my family history.

 My grandmother Alice Aurelie Victorine Mercier 

was born and brought up in Valenciennes in 1899. Quite a small town compared to today's sprawling city in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

My grandfather, William Wells was in the Motor Cycle Corps of the Royal Engineers during the first World War. In actual fact he had an avid interest in motor bikes prior to signing up and the 1911 census tells us that at 17 years old he was a Motor Cycle Improver. Anyway he signed up in 1914 and because of his interest he was able to take his own motor cycle with him to become one of the first motor cycle dispatch riders with the Royal Engineers prior to which this duty was carried out on horseback. Based in Mons, Belgium his job was to take messages and documents to and from the front line. It was on one of these journeys that he must have passed through Valenciennes on his way back to Mons - about 20 miles away.

Now - my grandmother Alice's parents owned a Boulangerie Patisserie shop in the Rue de Quesnoy in Valenciennes and it can only be surmised that William met Alice when he walked into the shop to purchase some freshly baked bread perhaps.

Alice's father, Alphonse Romaine MERCIER was born in the area around 1865

and he met and married Victorine Elizabeth Marie CARON born 1865

(standing here in the cobbled courtyard behind their shop)

Not a lot is known about my great grandparents. To try and trace family in France is no mean feat, especially if you cannot speak the language! No not a word!!!

Many years ago my late mum gave me an old box with some very dirty silver spoons, which she told me came from her mother Alice. As per usual this got stashed away in my loft and moved from house to house over the last forty years. However, in one of my "lets sort the loft out" days, it got brought back down again. I attempted to clean the silver and at least four of them were engraved with some initials. Didn't think much about it until I started writing this post! I don't know if you can see clearly but the initials are a very ornate M and C - the surnames of my French great grandparents Romaine MERCIER and Victorine CARON. 

Again, I hadn't really  taken much notice of the box but when I took the spoons out I noticed a piece of dried heather and a dried rosebud. My guess is that this was a wedding present for Alphonse and Victorine when they married around the mid 1890s. A gift  possibly from one of their parents - who alas I know nothing about.

Anyway back to Alice and William. 

It is unknown whether William returned to England with his regiment or stayed behind but they courted for a few years before marrying in 1922 - firstly in the Hotel de Ville - the local town hall and then they went to their local Church the Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Cordon which looked quite a grand affair.

William took Alice back home to England where they settled in Middlesex. Mum was born in 1925 and shortly after, my Uncle Jack - the rest is history - for another day perhaps.

I hope you enjoyed this little story of my French roots.

See you soon x