A day out at the Edible Garden Show

Last weekend my friend Laura and I toddled off to a special show at Stoneleigh in Warwickshire.We moaned about the driving rain on the over there, but thank goodness it was only rain. Today there's snow outside, ice and a biting, gusty wind to freeze the nadgers off a badger....

We went to this

Neither of us had been before ....but we were well prepared, with bags, a big four by four (to take all our purchases home), comfortable shoes, boots and rainwear.

On our way in we pitied the poor stallholders outside, huddled up trying to escape the rain, but once inside, we tried to be methodical...working our way around the huge main hall row by row so we didn't leave any of the 160 plus stalls unvisited.

First things first.. a  few little practical necessities, such as plant supports and something for a broken hose for Laura , bamboo socks and angora socks  for both of us...

A wander into the smallholder marquee, where I fell in love. With these....

I've never thought about owning a goat, although my dog Boo was  friendly with a rather jolly old goat who used to live in our village....but after seeing these...oh they were gorgeous. Perhaps I could keep a couple? Giving myself a mental slap for even thinking about it, we moved swiftly on, where we admired the hens and pigs.

Moving through back to the main hall, we found , by sense of smell, the specialist food tent..burgers of every description....and water buffalo ice cream...

By now, feeling peckish, we wandered along the food stalls at the far end of the hall. Each stall attracting those wanting to try and buy....who were hoovering up the free samples of jams, cheeses, bacons, relishes,dressings, breads, oils and vinegars.

We spent a while at the Wolmersley Fruit and Herb Vinegars stand, where I was bowled over by their intense flavours and the banter from Rupert Parsons. Their raspberry vinegar is simply divine..I shall be using that alot.....and the apple and apache chilli jam tingled my tastebuds.

I caught sight of other bottles too...wine bottles..

Those who know me understand that I'm utterly incapable of walking past wine anywhere....and luckily Laura is of the same persuasion....we tried  a few wines including a beautiful prosecco from Bat and Bottle, a specialist wine importer  from Oakham. Now Ben and Emma are the sort of people I'd like to go on tour with . A wine tour around vineyards...quaffing and buying.They're very knowledgeable, full of fun...and they drink buckets of the stuff. Just like Laura and I....

There was just time to stuff a peppermint in my mouth before heading off to interview the lovely Alys Fowler...who was running herself ragged at the show, giving talks about edible flowers and herbs for salads and fruitful crops to big crowds at the experts theatre, and talking to lots of people. More about Alys in another blogpost...

Also strutting his stuff , and equally passionate, about growing your own more exotic edibles,  was James Wong . He was inspiring lots of people to buy his book " Homegrown Revolution"  and seeds from Suttons. When I say people, many of them were women of a certain age!

I though had my eyes on a number of other products that I liked the look of....I bought a couple of grow bag frames for growing some tomatoes in the courtyard here at home...they were light and portable...and then I saw these..

 I've had my eye on one of these after reading about them....but it was good to see them in the flesh as it were. I'd love one of these ...planted with cut and come again salads, plus some dwarf beans, strawberries and carrots that I can pick without breaking my back. On the wish list for when I save some more money though.

But that's what I enjoyed about this show....lots of really practical products to help us all who want to grow our own food, plus expert advice and demonstrationsfrom both enthusiasts, celebrity chefs, celebrity gardeners, plus knowledgeable helpful people from associations and societies.too
We 're a growing band of enthusiasts too - the number of us growing our own fruit and veg have gone up from 34 per cent in 2008, to 43 per cent today. And despite the rain last weekend, there were lots of us at the Edible Garden Show at Stoneleigh.

Next year the show moves to Alexandra Palace...where the organisers hope to increase both exhibitor and visitor numbers. I wish them well, but.....and it's a fairly big but. What's wrong with Stoneleigh? It's accessible, has a central location, there's space for the show to expand...and I heard both exhibitors and visitors  questioning the move. Of course, I'm biased, Stoneleigh is close to home.....but will the Edible Garden Show attract us down to  Ally Pally next year ? Hey ho...watch this space.....

 Today's track is from the Lumineers  ....Ho Hey....a real sing along song ..and I do like their energy! Could do with some of that during the growing season!

 

seedy and snowy days

The holiday at home continues....the snow that was promised over the weekend arrived yesterday...

and there was more last night and this morning.

The weather is in a capricious mood today. One minute snow is falling with a sideways swipe, there's a biting wind. Five minutes later the sun is out...making everywhere look fresh and clean....

and then rewind....the snow is back.

All the gardening both at home and on the allotment I'd planned has had to take a back seat.  With so much to be done, it's frustrating.

I can still sow seeds though. Broad beans and Alderman  peas were already sown a few weeks back and are tucked up in the cold frame and plastic greenhouse outside.

But there's lots more to sow....these I got from Seedy Sunday at the beginning of the month.


An annual event, it's held in a nearby village....we all take a few packets of seed....and you get vouchers for each packet to swap with what else is there. It's very busy, with lots of jostling to get close to the seeds on offer..there's lots of people talking plants, the composting gurus from leicestershire County Council are there along with my favourite stallholders, volunteers from the Heritage Seed Library.

They're so knowledgeable, so enthusiastic ..I could talk to them for ages...but in the end come away with two lots of peas.

Peas are in the top three of my favourite crops to grow. Eyewateringly expensive to buy in the shops when fresh, I just love their sweetness, and crunchiness when eaten raw.

Clarke's Beltony Blue - which is a wrinkled heirloom variety of pea and was donated by Mrs Anderson. It was grown on her great grandfather’s farm in Co. Tyrone since at least 1850 (but possibly as far back as 1815). Apparently it's tall, with beautiful pale pink and rich maroon flowers followed by purple pods .Can't wait to see these grow.

As for the purple flowering russian peas ....they were brought back from Russia by a lady called Valerie Fordham -they're tall with pink and purple flowers.

I'm also growing again this year peas I've been saving each year for a while...they're yellow mange tout peas, ...yes, yellow mange tout! They're described as being incredibly rare...I got them from the Real Seed Company about four years ago...and with the exception of last year, they've done me proud.


There's some interesting varieties of beans I'm going to sow this year too.
I've bought some of Sarah Raven's organic Speedy Dwarf French beans ..which I've not grown before , but only take sixty days to mature.

From Seedy Sunday , I managed to get some of Mr fearn's Purple Flowering climbing beans..
I got these just for the name really, but have since found out that “They grow very well in a cold greenhouse – avoid hot sun or outside growing". That's from the donor Bernard Fearne who's been growing them since the war. ...but unfortunately I haven't got a cold greenhouse . I'll give them a whirl though....

But perhaps I'll do better with the "Sarah's Old fashioned black". I couldn't resist trying these too as although they come from Vancouver Island, BC, Canada, it's said that these beans seem to thrive in the British climate.

My seed stash this year seems to be larger than usual....so lots more sowing to do..but I'm also planning to visit the Edible Garden Show at Stoneleigh this weekend,  the only national event dedicated to growing your own fruit, vegetables and home produce.  Will I see you there?
http://www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk/


So the stash will no doubt get bigger....as Oscar Wilde wrote "I can avoid everything except temptation." And with so many exhibitors there, I know I won't come home empty handed.

Today's track is from New Zealanders The Black Seeds.....I kept humming this song as I wrote about Sarah's Old fashioned Black seeds...

I love this band, especially after seeing them last year here... http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/summer-sundae-days.html

This song is called fire...recorded live in Denver...

 

Mad March days

What a difference a year makes....this time I was in Perth, Western Australia. Long hot days by the beaches staying with my youngest son, who was in his second year there.

It was a wonderful month.While he worked I would go to my favourite beaches...

Cottlesloe

and Coogee..

I would dream, write, watch the waves, watch people and swim. Being able to walk into the water without squealing in shock , without every single part of of my body erupting into goosebumps - the end of an Australian summer is a joy.

I'm on holiday again for a few weeks. Staycationing? Well, that's too grand a term for it.....I'm staying at home....resting and relaxing. Or so I thought.

The first few days the sun shone and it was bright...actually bright, and warm enough to take off my jacket as I worked in the garden.  But March isn't a marvellous month here weatherwise...and the last few days have been grey...with today being particularly misty...more like November.

 Boo and I went for a walk in the nearby countryside dodging the puddles and mud ....

It's hard to believe that these were taken a few hours ago  - at two o'clock in the afternoon.

I couldn't help comparing and contrasting....this month with this time last year. And this time three years ago...when I was also in Western Australia with my daughter

And six years ago when I was with my eldest son too.....

Yes, I'm getting itchy feet....and yes Australia, I'm addicted to you. You're an expensive habit though ....I don't think I'll be seeing you this year .

In the meantime I need to see some sunshine....but I'm not holding my breath this weekend.There's an amber warning for snow,frosts or heavy rain....

Happy Holidays!

Today's track is from a band I managed to see in Freo last year at the Fremantle Arts Centre. I was on my own on a baking hot Sunday afternoon...I saw that the Stillsons were playing in the Courtyard there.
The stage was shaded .the audience moved around to avoid the sun , sitting under
 the trees and drinking ice cold beers to stay cool.

A lovely, laid back afternoon watching them play... vocals and gorgoues guitar work from Justin Bernasconi , Cat Canteri on drums and backing vocals with some beautiful pedal steel guitar from Ben Franz.  This is one of my favourite tracks  of theirs ...

 

 

a day of sunshine and snowdrops

It doesn't take much to make me happy. My glass is always half full, I'm always ready to have a laugh, and I love life.

But, to say it has seemed like a long winter is an understatement. A cold, grey, wet and snowy season which has sapped most of my inner reserves of optimism, and joie de vivre. Not being to go into the garden or out without freezing to death or being drenched makes me miserable.

There have been a few days where the sky has actually been blue...and these have stood out as beacons of hope, that the light of sun will shine again and that spring won't forget to visit.

Yesterday was one of those days. It wasn't exactly warm....but the sun shone, bathing everywhere in a glow of comforting sense of that a corner is being turned.

Even in the dullest days recently, it's been wonderful to see all the snowdrops....but in the sun yesterday they sparkled and put on a show....

To see the daffodils in bud at the top of the garden by the piggery was a thrill

And the pretty pink hellebores were a  sight for sore eyes.....

Plants are like people....sun , warmth perk us all us all a treat.....yesterday showed the promise of the spring and summer to come.

And  as I walked the hundred and fifty paces down to our village church with my darling daughter and her best friend to check exactly how many people could be seated in there for a very special wedding next year, we sang in the sunshine ( well I did...the others were laughing...) and my natural optimism bubbled up again.

Then as we came out of the church the sunshine beckoned.....and all was well with my world....

And you know what...the sun is shining again today.....so today's track has to be
" Lovely day" by Bill Withers. Like the sun, this track never fails to put me in a good mood.

 

Days of writing, talking and laughing...

It could have been three days and three nights of torture. Being stuck in a  small English town, with four other women of different ages...from very different backgrounds...who didn't know each other.

But when you're a writer, you're nosy, with an insatiable appetite for news and yes, let's call some of it gossip, well, there's a connection.

So who were we and  why were we there?

I met Shannon years ago through a travel forum. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans....I wanted to her to do some two ways here on the BBC. With direct access to what was going on and how the emergency services  were doing..all delivered in a delicious southern drawl..she was a real hit. And we've been friends ever since.

Her daughter Lauren was also there...within a kiss of turning fifteen, she was stuck in a coach house with four older women. Was it hell for her? I suspect not....she's funny, welcoming, and oh so polite. Now that's not your average teenager....is she destined for a career in PR? If so, she'll be wonderful....

Denise is a food writer, a journalist formerly with the Boston Globe. Feisty , funny, direct...hell yes, she's direct..with such a warmth that we didnt need to turn up the central heating.What a woman!

Here's Lauren and Denise....

And there was|Susan , another travel writer , petite, with a quiet voice compared to some of us...so kind ...who always seems to be catching a flight to the next story.

So the scene was set...we met in Cambridgeshire,in the Fens, in Ely, We stayed in an atmospheric , quirky coach house belonging to an old house right by Ely Cathedral. We were there to write, to eat, and drink copious amounts of prosecco (apart from Lauren of course)

We went sightseeing , Ely Cathedral, the town, a wonderful local restaurant called the Old Fire Engine House,  Cambridge...we sat and really talked....what a magical few days.

Ostensibly we all spoke the same language - English- but with us being from the UK, Lousiana, the East Coast of America, and Phoenix Arizona... our accents were very different. Being called Miss Bridget  drove me into paroxyms of delight....I could have been in a film....I've got to get to the Southern States to hear more of that wonderful accent. And Denise (Holy Shit )Dube....well,she should definitely be in films.....love, love!

As for me...well, I hope I've given them a trip around Cambridge that they won't forget, and a  true flavour of some of our English sayings...the rich variety of our vernacular. "Bollocks" and "knackered " seemed to  go down a treat for some reason.

So what seemed to be a one off meeting looks like it will be repeated. We've all got so much material to write about - travel articles, food reviews, we're going to meet up again. Perhaps Italy, who knows where our next journey will take us...but it will be soon. So much creativity, laughs and enthusiasm...it was wonderful.

Thanks ladies! Until next time.....wherever anyone wants to send us.....
.

 

More days of Richard III mania

Well it's been a busy couple of weeks ...who would have thought that Leicester would be the focus of the world's media for days?

Yes, those bones were those of King Richard III!  It's been such an exciting time for true Ricardians everywhere around the globe, and millions watched the channel 4 documentary about the search for the King.

On the night it was broadcast I was at work in the newsroom reading bulletins every hour on the hour. It was busy so was unaware that I was in the documentary too. But suddenly there were twitter and facebook messages saying I can hear you....and I've just seen you.

Of course the following day I watched..and yes, two pieces of audio were used from the day I was broadcasting from the car park where Richard was found....and two shots of me in the press conference - looking slightly gormless I have to say...

So, nothing to get excited about there...but there's been exciting developments since. Channel 4 have already commisssioned a second documentary about the King  after a consolidated audience of 4.9m - and it's Channel 4's highest rating show of 2013 to date.

We've also seen a fight between two cities over Richard. The City of York laid claim to the King, saying his bones should be interred there ...he was from Yorkshire. As you can imagine that hasn't gone down well here in Leicester. Yet despite the fact the Ministry of Justice licence to allow the original excavation states the legal right of the University of Leicester and Leicester City Council to choose the site of interment, York has continued to press its claim.

As if that wasn't enough excitement , a brand new exhibition opened in the mediaeval Guildhall ten days ago chronicling the search for Richard III and detailing the proof that the body found really was his.

There's some great touchscreen interactives in the exhibition and there's a model of King Richard's skull, made from the CT scan of the skeleton made at Leicester Royal Infirmary and 3D printed using a technique called laser sintering.It's been made by bods from Loughborough University (where I studied)

There's also some rather lovely floor tiles plus a section of carved stone frieze from the wall of the Grey Friars church. Hats off indeed to Laura Hadland,  a senior curator at Leicester City Council and her team who have worked around the clock to get this exhibition up and ready for action in such a breathtakingly short space of time.

When I say this exhibition is popular, there's been queues for days to see this exhibition. But do go...it's free to get into with fascinating glimpses of what's been the most thrilling archaeological finds for many years. Opening times vary, so do check with the Guildhall online before turning up.

 Meanwhile the Richard III Society have unveiled their design for Richard's tomb.

Many like the design but Leicester Cathedral is starting it's own preparation for the interment of King Richard III inside the Cathedral in a place of honour.. A date has been set - 12^th March - when the Architects brief will be agreed by the Cathedral Chapter, with whom the decision about a final memorial legally lies. This brief will then be made public.

 So we will wait and see what's decided...but the tomb must be in harmony with its surroundings within the cathedral. Whatever the design though, visitor numbers to Leicester Cathedral will go through the roof.

The BBC studios are within spitting distance of the cathedral and the guildhall, a stone's throw from the car park where Richard III was found, and I can't remember ever seeing so many people milling around here in the mediaeval heart of Leicester. This historic discovery has suddenly ignited a passion for our past....and long may it continue.

Today's track is slightly different to usual and much longer .....but do have a listen. It's a recording of a special concert held a week ago at the University of Leicester, where a group of historical music performers presented a musical biography of Richard III's life, of music from 1452 to 1485.

 

Thorley, Peter

Issued by University of Leicester Press Office Issue: 14 February 2013 Listen to Richard III’s life through music Recorder trio TritonE perform a musical biography of Richard III’s life at the University of Leicester A recording of the concert is available

Thu 14/02

The group are TritonE - a professional recorder trio which specialises in the performance of historical music.

 

According to Professor Lin Foxhall, Head of the School of Archaeology and Ancient History, at the University of leicester who was so heavily involved in the search for for Richard III,  “This concert offers another perspective on the life and times of Richard III, presenting the sound world in which he lived."

So why not have a listen and transport yourself back to the fifteenth century? 
 

http://soundcloud.com/university-of-leicester/the-search-for-king-richard-1

 

Richard III -days of hype and hope

Within the next twenty four hours we will know the outcome of one of the biggest historical cliffhangers for many years .

Are the bones that were found in a Leicester car park back in September last year, really those of the last Plantaganet King, Richard III?

 It's a story, which quite rightly has captured the imagination of millions worldwide, and like others , I've been following the story very closely. I was there broadcasting from the car park on the day it was announced that the body COULD be that of Richard III. There's more on that here

http://www.thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-day-they-found-king-richard-111.html

 I was there at the press conference  where there was a very real sense of wonder as archaeologists Richard Buckley and Lin Foxhall from the University of Leicester itemised their findings so far. And I've interviewed Lin several times since then...she's so upbeat, so engaging about the quest but giving nothing away.

Since then, everyone's been playing a waiting game. Waiting for the DNA results on the body...which locally sparked off jokes about why they would take three months to connect the DNA from the body to a descendent from Canada. when people featured on the Jeremy Kyle show on television can get instant access to their DNA results.

But it's not a question of  just DNA results, the remains have been carbon dated and analysed environmentally in an effort to confirm the identification. Meticulous records, time consuming tests  on a  body in a secret location, baby sat and protected by volunteers for months.

In Leicestershire though, there's a real conviction that the body must be Richard III. Why else would Leicester City Council buy an empty Victorian building next to the site where the body was found?
St Martins Place,which cost £850,000, and formerly owned by Leicester Grammar School until five years ago, could potentially be used as a visitor centre.

I hope with all my heart that it is King Richard III who lay buried for over 500 years a stone's throw from where I work.

Firstly, because I've always been interested in this period of history, subscribing to the belief that yes, he was a "much maligned King", and always hating the thought that his body had been thrown in to the nearby River Soar.

Secondly, if it is Richard, then visitor numbers to the city will rocket...

Thirdly...it will be such a brilliant archaeological coup for the University of Leicester.

And  fourthly, ...and this is the big one.....after some banter on twitter with some other local journalists the other week , I did vow to show my knickers in Leicester's mediaeval Guildhall if the body wasn't Richard.

So there you have it. Until tomorrow I'm wishing and hoping  - that there'll be celebrations  that the King has been found...and that my knickers do not get an airing in the Guildhall.

Today's track is by Dusty Springfield...."Wishin and Hopin"