A day of saying goodbye to the summer

 



I can pinpoint exactly when we said goodbye to the summer this year. That last day of brilliant sunshine, heat and sheer joy to be sitting out on a Sunday and seeing friends and neighbours. It was four weeks ago today, and the weather has really changed since then.

 

It was the day of our village meet up...a new addition to the annual rhythm of village events. Apart from church services, normally there's four starting off with the Pancake Party, the Barn Dance in high summer, Harvest Supper and Carol Singing. Being a small village in the middle of the English countryside, we like to keep to the old traditions.

 

But this year Kate suggested a late September meet up , to be held on the village green. Nothing too fancy, a small marquee on the teeny green, everybody was to bring a picnic lunch, there would be a barrel of real manly ale for all the men in  the village and the women would bring their own wine. Oh, and Willie's band would be playing, and we would hire in a couple who serve gorgeous cream teas from their vintage Citroen van.

 

Well that was the plan, which so very nearly went according to plan, but there was a hiccup. The weather. Possible heavy rain was forecast, so we all decamped to Willie and Kate's courtyard. And what an inspired idea that was..it was the perfect venue for a magical afternoon....

 

 



 



Most brought a picnic

 

 
 
 
 
 



But the cream tea van still did a roaring trade....

And there were so many quiet places to escape to and have a natter and a cup of tea...

There were games for the children, but most of them just wanted to run around the gardens,

or sit and watch the band.

Now Willie has a band, he plays guitar and harmonica, and sings, and that was one of the reasons the venue for the get together was changed. The band were going to play on the back of a cart and plug into  Barbara's house on the green. But no one wanted the band to be electrocuted during a heavy downpour...

Especially not when Greg Pearle, Willie's friend was singing. That's not to say we would have sacrificed the rest of the band you understand . But Greg....ah,  he's special.He was staying in the village  for a few weeks , he'd entranced us and had made us cry in church the week before with the gravelly passion and pathos of his voice . And he melted my heart again, that afternoon in the sunshine as he sang some of his own material and some covers..

And as the afternoon went into early evening, no one wanted to the afternoon to end....

besides there was still time to catch those last few golden moments

before it really was time to leave

So, the last day of summer....and it's only as I write this, I realise there's no photo of Kate, whose idea sparked off such a magical afternoon. Mind you, she was hither and thither and didn't stand still for a minute. I only hope she enjoyed it as much as we did.

Today's track has to be, must be,  from the wonderful Greg Pearle, .featured here with the amazing John Illsley from Dire Straits  -it's from the album they made together back in 2008. Sit back, and just enjoy "Shine".....I love it.

 

Days of plums, damsons and brass

September has been such a good month for plums and damsons hasn't it?

The Victoria plum tree on the allotment was heavily laden this year...

And so there was picking to be done...

I was also given a few pounds of damsons....my friend Jo didn't know what to do with all...every day she came to work with carrier bags of them, and I think she fed the whole newsroom. I exaggerate , she fed those of us who can make puddings and jam. The sports boys in the corner wouldn't know what to do with a damson if it hit them in the ear. 

I however do....and made this lovely Nigel Slater's plum cake...captured just as it was going into the oven. The flavour of the damsons and the texture of ground almonds and polenta made a delicious treat for tea.

Back to the Victoria plums, some of which I froze or stewed and served cold with ice cream.....

But I also tried a new recipe this year...plum gumbo. Made with plums, sultanas, sugar, fresh ginger which adds a certain zing, plus other bits and pieces, it's very tasty with bread and cheese.

In fact the only thing that's wrong with this batch is that I didn't make enough! In the meantime, there's still plenty to do in the kitchen with a preserving pan - time to sort the apples out.....

Not tonight though, it's now dark,  and I'm back in the kitchen just about to get the supper ready. While the vegetables are roasting and the pasta is on to boil , I've been listening to a group whose music always seems to fit this time of night.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are from Chicago, but moved to New York. They're a world away from my my cottage in a tiny village . but at twilight, with a glass of red wine in my hand, with my toes tapping our worlds collide and I hope that one day I can see them perform live.

An apple a day.....

 

 

This year has been a very good year for fruit at the allotments. Pounds of blackcurrants, gooseberries and some lovely raspberries, especially the autumn variety which have a lovely flavour.

 

But this year, the apple trees and plum trees are the starts of the show....they are absolutely laden with fruit. There's two of each, and the first apples to pick have been these - I think they're discovery apples.

  

 

The fruit trees are on the outermost edge of the allotment site about ten feet away from the road. There's lot of nettles around, so even though it wasn't cold exactly, I had a thick pair of trousers on, boots, and a long sleeved jumper and gloves on as I picked the fruit.

Oh and sunglasses, even if the sun wasn't shining.....I'm so accident prone, I tend to get caught in the eye by a rogue, sadistic branch or two.

Luckily I escaped unscathed and came home with these....

 



 

 

These are  tasty desert apples, so what am I going to do with them, plus the rest on the tree that Laura ,my friend and co conspirator at the lottie doesn't want?

 

I've already made a rather nice tarte tatin, a big waldorf salad, and have been taking some into work to eat with lunch. Well, you know what they say..."an apple a day keeps the doctor away."

 

And apparently this proverb from Victorian times is right. Well, so researchers at Oxford University said last Christmas time. Apparently, they calculated that if all adults aged 50 and over here in the UK were prescribed an apple a day , there would be 8,500 fewer deaths from heart attacks and strokes each year.

 

That's good enough for me! But I need some more recipes using dessert apples instead of cooking apples. I've been looking in my two "must go to "books on fruit by the wonderful Nigel Slater and the late, great Jane Grigson, plus the Riverford Farm Book has some good apple recipes in too...but I fancy something new!

 

 

 

 

 

 What's your favourite way of using dessert apples?


As we're in the last days of August, I thought today's music track should be this - set in the last days of summer...Choices. It's performed in a garden by To Kill a King (love), Bastille (love too) and some of their friends. The song builds up from two voices and acoustic guitar to violins, cello, brass section and Uncle Tom Cobley and all. Delightful....

 

The day Boo met Bow

So, today was the day.

A very handsome chap called Bow travelled down from Derbyshire to meet Boo for a date.

As his owners Natalie and Joe brought him into the courtyard, I liked him immediately. He has such a lovely nature, is very friendly, and as soon as he clapped eyes on Boo, it was obvious he wanted to be more than friends.

Boo liked him too.....

 



 

 

 

Bow felt very pleased with himself afterwards.....

And then both were relaxed enough to pose for a photo...and were remarkably affectionate with each other.

 

 But all too soon it was time for Bow to go to back to Derbyshire, so there was a quick goodbye at the gate.

 

Since he's been gone, Boo has been a little unsettled. She's on her favourite wicker chair though, asleep on her blanket, no doubt dreaming of Bow and a rather surprising Saturday morning...

 

 

Nine weeks to go...so you'd better watch this space......

 

Today's track is from John Newman...."Love me again"

 





A day which redeemed itself eventually

Well, what a day!

I managed to leave work an hour over shift , and got to the car park opposite the BBC . When I say opposite, it is as the crow flies. It used be a quick little walk across by another little car park, but at the moment it's a longer walk.

The new Jubilee Square which is under construction  has cut off the entrance to our building, and we have to go around the block to go through the back door at the moment. Which is nice.

Anyway, I got to my car in the delightful NCP Car Park, walking up one flight of stairs, inhaling the revolting smell of urine soaked steps, and got to my car. As you drive out of the car park, you turn right  - you're on what is called St Nicholas Circle.  A huge traffic island  with a Holiday Inn plonked in the centre of it. Which is nice.

As I drove out around the circle, my car died . Just stopped, lights flashed on the dashboard, and that was it. No power whatsoever. You can imagine the delight of all the drivers coming up behind me. Despite my putting the flashers on, and gesticulating wildly for them to go around me, there were horns going, a few signs ( who knew two fingers or even one could convey such a fervent message?)
and I really did start to worry. How could I get the car to a safe position? Would my back end get shunted?

No one came to help....I was trying to phone for help without success, but then I gotr lucky. Help arrived - it wasn't the  cavalry, because he'd got out of a car, but he really was a knight in shining armour. His name was Paul Dickinson and he was  from British Gas...taking charge of the situation, he caught the attention of two Polish guys walking past .They couldn't speak any English, but with sign language he got them to help and all three of them pushed my around the traffic island to the hotel with the car park I'd just come out of.

Paul, thanks very much! And I'm sorry it took so long to get your breath back.And thank you to the car breakdown man with no teeth who arrived and was so cheery as he helped get the car started.

Three hours after leaving work, I finally got home, tired, and hungry.

But there was good news....for the last few months, I've been trying to find a suitable suitor for my lovely little dog Boo.  She may not be fussy, but I am, and I'd been looking for another black patterdale cross border terrier for her to have pups with. I'd even mentioned on twitter that Boo needed a dog....and I got accused of pimping her out on the internet!

Anyway, the problem has become a pressing one...Boo is in season and Shreddie, a lovely Jack Russell who also lives in the village ,is determined to have his evil way with Boo. He sits outside our gates howling to get in. He follows Boo on her walks with Mr Thinking of the Days, and today was lying in wait in the lane hiding in the long grass, and as they walked past, he pounced. |Boo had to be carried home held high so he couldn't get her.

Anyway, tonight I've sorted out the bridegroom (well it is "wedding season") for Boo. He's such a handsome chap , exactly what I wanted and he's so like Boo to look at , it's untrue.

 

They're meeting on Saturday and I'm going to be encouraging her to do what I told my children never to do, and that's sleep with someone on their first date. And apparently  their "date" is going to cost me seventy pounds.

Still, that's cheaper than what my car is going to cost me tomorrow, as I need a new starter motor, battery and a few other little bits.

But although I was so cross and flustered earlier ,stuck in the road in a car which wouldn't move, and cursing all the unhelpful people who honked their horns at me, it's a great feeling that there are genuinely nice ones who go out of their way to help someone. People like Paul Dickinson.

I'm also excited about what could happen in about nine weeks time. The patter of tiny paws ...now that's a day to look forward to.......


Today's track is from the incredibly talented Jimi Hendrix...a song that I found myself singing as I drove home tonight - Cross Town traffic

.

 

A day which was meant to be

I went to a very special wedding on 24th May....that of my darling daughter. I haven't blogged about it yet because I'm waiting for her to do the honours first - after all it was  her special day! Later this week though, I will post photos and thoughts of the most amazing , emotional, beautiful day..


But this Saturday lunchtime, I 'm thinking of another wedding which is taking place today, thousands of miles away in Louisiana in the good old US of A.  My friend Shannon is getting married to James...and their love story is something out of a fairy tale.

Shannon and I have known each other for about six years....

and last February we met up in Ely in Cambridgeshire with her lovely daughter Lauren and two other writers  Denise and Susan. See here
http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/days-of-writing-talking-and-laughing.html

Let me tell you about Shannon. She's beautiful, fun, feisty, full of Southern charm, dynamic and a damn good writer. She also has an inoperable brain tumour.

When we met in Ely, although we laughed til we cried, there was also an underlying sadness for Shannon....and it wasn't just the brain tumour which was causing concern, things weren't going right in her personal life.

By June, Shannon was in the middle of a divorce, and received the worst news from her doctor, that surgery wasn't an option to get rid of the tumour.

http://www.shannonlane.com/letting-it-be/


She flew back to Louisana  the next day determined to live her life to the full. And sitting next to her on the plane was an airline pilot called James. They talked, they laughed, they kept in the contact, and as for the rest....well, dear reader, she is marrying him today!




So today Shannon, I wish you all the happiness in the world with your handsome pilot as later this afternoon as you walk down the aisle .

 James, you've made my friend so happy already...I can't wait to meet you.

Have a lovely day today and all the other days to come...

Today's track is for you both .....

 

Days when it's time to stop and ....

High summer, which here in England means temperatures of about 20 Celsius if we're lucky. Not for us the certainty of being able to eat outdoors when we feel like it and the assurance that plans for days out can be kept to.

Which is why it's been a wonderful surprise to have visitors, one from Canada and three from Seattle from across the pond....and to be able to do things we normally can't.

I love being outdoors on an English summer evening. To be able to drink chilled glasses of prosecco while feeling the softness of the grass underneath my feet. To have friends and rellies around for supper and eat under the early evening sun

and sit outside into the long evening until darkness falls at way past 10pm...

even though it was a bit nippy by then...and even Liz from Toronto was feeling the chill.

 

Last Thursday the Americans arrived and were here for the 4th July too...

which we didn't celebrate with fireworks. We don't do fireworks ever here . Living in a thatched cottage,  being clumsy, and setting off fireworks would be too risky. Instead we chose the safer option, which cousin Melinda and Aunt Avril wanted to do, was to go and see the Leicester of Richard III. Greg decided on a game of golf.

But we did have nine for supper around the kitchen table - all family, laughing , drinking, eating and talking,....and oh how we talked .

When they left on Saturday lunchtime, and my darling daughter headed back down south,the house suddenly seemed very quiet, especially after such a very busy week.

A feeling of tiredness washed over me, and I decided that I would embrace the quietness and solitude.
I would do what my mum is always telling me to do...stop and smell the roses.

I haven't got any roses left in my garden but I did find time to sit in the garden , smelling the herbs and flowers

My faithful furry faced friend decided to follow suit...

and that , by and large was Saturday. Apart from cooking , washing and ironing and going to the allotment, I did nothing.

Sunday was even more restful... I really did stop . I read, and listened to Radio 4. I caught up with the Archers, and a wonderful documentary about the musician Jeff Buckley's visit to London twenty years ago . Do listen, it's available until this Sunday to listen again to.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b048hxpk


And then in the afternoon, Boo and I settled on the sofa for a ringside seat watching the men's final at Wimbledon.

Bliss, even though I felt exhausted afterwards. It's tiring watching tennis.....


One thing I will never tire of though, is listening to Jeff Buckley's music.Today's track is one of my favourite tracks of his - it's called "Everybody here wants you".The beat, the voice, the emotion, and the passion still get me every time I hear it.....

Listen, love it and press repeat.....

The day of the Summer Solstice when Kasabian came to town



 

There's some lovely parks in Leicester - grand, ornate parks laid out  by the Victorians, so that the masses could get out into the fresh air on their day of rest and relax.

 

Victoria Park  just outside the city centre isn't one of the grand ones, but there's over sixty acres and it's a lovely space to walk, to play tennis, to play football or just relax in any season. I love it in Autumn...



 

 

It's a very open space, where in winter, the icy winds can tear you in two... but during the balmy days of last week , two kilometres of huge, three metre high barriers were erected, enclosing about forty acres of the park...



They were there for this....



Kasabian, the Leicester band with the big attitude, four number one albums and a very loyal following  were back in the city for a party. A very big party - of fifty thousand people who streamed into the park in the blistering heat on a scented tide of sunscream, bodyspray and beer to get their places near the front

 

Support acts were Beardyman, Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe and Australian band Jagwa Ma, who only got together in 2011 in Sydney. Their sound for me just suits the sunshine...especially on "Come Save me" which is a sort of Beach boys on crack tribute...

 

 

 



 

 

As the late afternoon became evening, the temperature cooled but the audience warmed up as Rudimental took to the stage

 

 





 



Then as the sky changed, the spot monkeys climbed up to do their  jobs





And at long last Kasabian took to the stage ..and there was a  genuine sense of anticipation as the

 bright pink backdrop, mimicing the album artwork of 48.13 , electronically counted down to the performance. I was in the middle of the crowd...headphones on , live on BBC 's The Beat with Dean Jackson, describing the mood, the day, and audience reaction.

 

 

 

Tom Meighan, Kasabian's lead singer is not known for his modesty or reticence....and he swaggered around the stage singing his heart out, genuinely seeming so proud of what the band had achieved in getting this event put on in their home city.

 

Serge Pizzorno had previously promised us all that this homecoming show will be "the greatest thing we have ever done"....so was he right? Well yes, it was the best live show I've seen the band perform, and I've seen them about six or seven times.Technically so good, the vocals were as clear as you like, the girls on strings played their hearts out, Serge danced more than I've seen him do before...and the band enjoyed themselves. From the very first song "Bumblebee" , they romped through a large proportion of their back catalogue...treating the audience who were dancing along and singing to their hearts content.

 

 

 

 

Halfway through though, I had another live insert to do...and Dean Jackson asked if Tom Meighan was talking much in between tracks .....all I could say on live radio , was that he was saying a few words . I couldn't have repeated most of them...the f word is Tom's favourite adjective, noun and verb...

But after that , there was time to enjoy the last few tracks at the side of park...

 

 

and have a laugh with BBC Radio 's Ed Stagg....who'd I bumped into earlier....





 

After that, I watched fifty thousand people walk off into the night, singing, shouting, as I sat in my little satellite truck waiting to be allowed out of the production control area and off the park...and marked the end of the summer solstice in a queue.


Today's track just has to be one from Kasabian, doesn't it? So here's "Re Wired" ...and their video makes me chuckle....

 

Busy, busy, busy days

Well, it's been a while hasn't it?

No, I've not been lazing around on some far flung beach, busy doing nothing....I've been working hard, and living life to the full.

I've also been  worrying about my lovely Mum who's been seriously ill, and who's had two operations since January so have been up and down to the West Country ....

Here she is two days after she came out of hospital  for the second time, on Mothers Day

In March I went to my darling daughter's hen do in Brighton...a lovely, life affirming weekend full of laughter, love, prosecco and other shenanigans! Over twenty of us in  a huge house by the seafront, superbly organised by Grace, Ellie, Squeaky, and Emma, Lucy's four bridesmaids..it was simply wonderful.

Here's my gorgeous daughter and I

 

 And here's the bride to be , Ellie and Grace the morning after the two nights before....





Since that weekend, time has been spiralling out of control. I have lists, a master plan and two weeks today, it's the wedding! I'm waking up at 4am...lying awake for at least an hour or so, while lists, things to do and other various thoughts flit through my mind.

This morning, I was at our beautiful 12th century village church...for two hours cleaning with friends from the village, getting the church spick and span for a very important day...




There was one very special helper there too....Snow White, otherwise known as Iona Gilbertson Hart,



who was an absolute whizz with a vacuum cleaner





And outside, there was help from the mowing brigade......who are efficient, trained, grass grazing machines

 

Oh no, we don't bother with lawn mowers in our tiny English village in the land time forgot.

But even these have to have a break every now and again....






So, it's all systems ago go for a traditional English country wedding in two weeks time. There's just one thing now that's worrying me  - the great British weather!



Today's track is one which seems so apt at the moment...it's the Guess Who  with "No time". It was written in the sixties.....but I didn't become aware of it until years later. I was at a party in someone's flat, everyone was dancing on the living room floor (the neighbours must have been so thrilled), and there were some Canadians  there. Now the Guess Who are a Canadian band, so when this track began, they went ballistic....singing this song at the tops of their very drunken voices and playing air guitars. I think the song has stood the test of time too....I love it...