Always remembered with love

Just over 20 years ago, Nerea made her debut appearance, bringing us so much joy. We've accomplished so much in that time, creating what I hope are a raft of happy, 

family memories she can recall with fondness in later life. But during this time, there 

 have been moments of unutterable sadness for me as my mum was no longer with us.  

Mum would have been a wonderful Grandma and I'm always so thankful that before she 

died suddenly, 20 years ago today, she'd held my baby daughter in her arms for 

 a few precious hours. Requiescat in pace, Mum

Mum singing a lullaby to Nerea - March 1994

Inshore Waters

We had something of a minor indiscretion on Tiree for we bought a beautiful picture that called to us from the Blue Beyond gallery.  It’s an unusual piece, vividly depicting the intensive blues that form the skies and seas that surround the island, using both textiles and paint. Created by Susan Woodcock, who runs the gallery with her artist husband, Colin, she has dyed fabrics and layered them to create a seascape collage that draws the viewer into the scene. Like Tiree itself, the painting appears to change in different lights, embodying the restless, endless, shifting nature of the sea   

Hockey Dinner

As Andy coaches the school 2^nd hockey team, we attended the hockey dinner the other weekend and again had a delightful meal in the company of lovely young people.  Between courses, reports were given and prizes awarded with lighter moments created by a slide show and the presentation of humorous “team awards”. The girls were generous in their praise of each other and showed a remarkable ability to laugh at themselves. At the end of the evening, they thanked the catering and sports staff with small gifts so Andy received a delicious bottle of wine. It was a lovely evening.

Tiree

Balephuil Bay

 

The Maze, Sandaig

One’s heart can’t fail to soar at the shimmering turquoise bays and white beaches of Tiree. They are wonderful, draped with necklaces of seaweed and shells and cloaked by green, sandy dunes.  Their seductive curves, caressed by silver topped waves whispering ageless secrets, charm those who see them, drawing the visitor into a helpless love affair that lasts long after the Island has been left behind for the grey pavements of life. But thankfully, as is the way for all lovers, it is possible to close one’s eyes and be enveloped, albeit momentarily, back in a tender, peaceful “Tireen” embrace. 

Vaul Bay

Salum Bay

One a penny, two a penny......

With Easter round the corner and spurred on by the success of my Simnel Cake, I’ve embarked on Hot Cross Bun production. I’d bought some fresh yeast in the reduced aisle of the supermarket so resorted to the old fashioned method of hand kneading instead of using the bread maker. After an extended rising period in the airing cupboard, (I was enthralled by a catch up session of Shetland), I soon had them knocked into shape and proving in a more visible place. The smell of spice when they were baking was simply glorious and they tasted just as good!

Dough Recipe

14g dried yeast or 30g fresh yeast

500g white bread flour

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1 teaspoon mixed spices

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

185ml warm milk

40g butter

200g mixed dried fruit

Icing for crosses

100g icing sugar

lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven at 200 ºC

2. In a bowl combine the yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 125 ml warm water. Stir and leave in a warm draught-free place for 10 minutes. The mixture should be frothy and light

3. In another bowl sift the flour, spices, remaining sugar and butter. Rub in the butter with your fingertips and add the dried fruit.

4. Make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture and 185 ml of warm milk to make a soft dough.

5. Dust with flour a surface and turn the dough over it. Knead for 15 minutes until smooth, adding more flour if needed. Place the dough in a floured bowl, cover with plastic wrap or with a damp tea towel.

6. Leave the bowl in a warm place free of draughts for 30-40 minutes until doubled in size.

7. Turn the dough on a floured surface, knead to deflate. Shape the Hot Cross Buns into 12 balls. Place them on a greased baking tray touching each other. Leave in a warm place for a further 20 minutes until doubled in size,

8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden

9. To make the crosses: mix the icing sugar and lemon juice into a paste. Fill a piping bag and pipe crosses over the buns. 

Simnel Cake for Easter

I made a mini  Simnel cake today.  I actually made two but only finished one with its topping of lightly toasted almond paste and eleven symbolic almond paste balls (depicting the disciples without Judas).  Historically, it was made to be eaten during Lent on Mothering Sunday but as we’re going to Scotland for Easter, I thought it would be a special treat for us to be able to feast on fruit cake after a hard day walking on the beaches of Tiree, hence the baking!  It smelt so good, it was hard not to cut a slice to test it!

Easter Simnel cake by Mary Berry

Ingredients
100g/4oz glacé cherries
225g/8oz butter, softened
225g/8oz light muscovado sugar
4 large eggs
225g/8oz self-raising flour
225g/8oz sultanas
100g/4oz currants
50g/2oz chopped candied peel
2 lemons, grated zest only
2 tsp ground mixed spice
For the filling and topping
450g/1lb marzipan
1-2 tbsp apricot jam, warmed

Preparation method
1. Preheat the oven to 150C/280F/Gas 2. Grease and line a 20cm/ 8in
cake tin.
2. Cut the cherries into quarters, put in a sieve and rinse under running
water. Drain well then dry thoroughly on kitchen paper.
3. Place the cherries in a bowl with the butter, sugar, eggs, self-raising
flour, sultanas, currants, candied peel, lemon zest and mixed spice
and beat well until thoroughly mixed. Pour half the mixture into the
prepared tin.
4. Take one-third of the marzipan and roll it out to a circle the size of
the tin and then place on top of the cake mixture. Spoon the
remaining cake mixture on top and level the surface.
5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 2½ hours, or until well risen,
evenly brown and firm to the touch. Cover with aluminium foil after
one hour if the top is browning too quickly. Leave to cool in the tin for
10 minutes then turn out, peel off the parchment and finish cooling
on a wire rack.
6. When the cake is cool, brush the top with a little warmed apricot jam
and roll out half the remaining marzipan to fit the top. Press firmly on
the top and crimp the edges to decorate. Mark a criss-cross pattern
on the marzipan with a sharp knife. Form the remaining marzipan
into 11 balls.
7. Brush the marzipan with beaten egg and arrange the marzipan balls
around the edge of the cake. Brush the tops of the balls with beaten
egg and then care

Happy Easter

City of Dreaming Spires

A glimpse of Magdalen College

My only other visit to Oxford was for a work-related training course which took place in a former large Victorian residence away from the centre so I saw nothing of the city! Last week I had an opportunity of making a whistle stop visit on a journey “dahn Sarf” so with it being a fine afternoon, I headed off into the town.  I managed to find several caches and enjoyed tempting glimpses into several of the college grounds despite having limited time.  I even witnessed the filming of Vera Brittain’s “Testament of Youth” around Brasenose.  Definitely a place to revisit

A glimpse into the Botanic Gardens

Film set

Radcliffe Camera; The Bodlian

"Busty Ricycles"

One of those dreaming spires

I need a hot toddy!

Stock up on the “Lemsips” for I’m feeling wretched with a cold.  There was an inevitability about developing it as Mr Glis has been working alongside a colleague who had an absolute stinker about 2 weeks ago.  Andy succumbed to it last week leaving me to bring up the rear towards the end of last week.  My head is fuzzy, my nose alternates between feeling blocked and running like a tap and my chest is tight with a painful cough.  To cap it all, I have cold sores on my nose and lips too.  Let’s hope it dries up soon.

Nicky Nook

It's behind you! (Blackpool Tower, that is)

Suggesting a walk up Nicky Nook revealed that it was a place that held special memories for several school-friends. Being Fylde Coast children, it was an easy way "to get out in the hills" by public transport for those of us without cars in the 1960s and 70s. And, to ensure we finished the "tiring" hike, we’d all faced parental bribery and corruption ranging from promised views of Blackpool Tower to 99s in Scorton.  The atrocious weather on Saturday saw the deployment of similar tactics with the lure of "lunch at The Barn". Unsurprisingly we didn't even glimpse Blackpool Tower!!

Baby Tarn

It pays to be flexible

Setting off before the rain

The rain came

Some days don't turn out quite as planned but are no less enjoyable for that. And so it was on Saturday. An invigorating hike up Nicky Nook followed by lunch at The Barn in Scorton (with other friends less enthusiastic for fresh air), was fairly dependant on good weather so naturally, it rained. Foolish members of the party still headed for the summit in driving rain but opted for a shorter descent, rushing back to the cafe to steam gently throughout lunch. A delightful afternoon followed with much gossiping before we reluctantly went our separate ways, until the next time

A stormy summit

Lunch

Meetings, meetings, meetings

I’m in York today and even though it’s raining, it’s still looking lovely, as a favourite city should when dressed in her spring robes,.  Sadly my own mood is somewhat damp, as I’d hoped to meet a friend this afternoon but the meeting that had been arranged for 10am, then slipped to 11am has now been rescheduled to 1pm with a follow up at 4pm.  I can’t say I’m too happy as I’m not sure what time I’ll get something to eat or arrive home and as I left this morning at 6am, I really don’t want to be late

 

The chairman has not activated the call, please wait.....

Teleconference calls are the bane of my life, which is why a comedy video of a teleconference, acted as if it was a physical meeting, was hilarious but disturbingly accurate.  Attendees were soothing children, playing on-line games and randomly wandering in and out, all while pretending to participate in the meeting.   On a genuine call last week, many of my colleagues had phones without a mute facility so we could hear children crying, sheep bleating and trains thundering past. We even had a thunderstorm causing people to drop in and out of the call.

Amusing? Definitely. Effective communication? Absolutely not!

"I'm on the train"

Cups and Rings

Although aware of cup and ring markings, carved by Neolithic and Bronze Age peoples over 3000 years ago, I'd never actually found any until I discovered geocaching. Since then I've visited several sites but never one with such well-defined markings as those on a wild, lonely moorland in Northumberland.

That it was a very foggy day when I trekked to Tod Crag, added mystery to my adventure. Wrapped in a chilly blanket of freezing mist, I cautiously made my way across rough ground with nothing other than the curlews and skylarks for company, an eerie pilgrimage to a spiritual place.

An eerie spot

Driving on a remote road across the wild moorlands of Northumberland, looming up out of the mist was the very eerie sight of a wooden gallows. I stopped the car (as I knew there was a geocache nearby) to read about the grizzly memorial.  It transpired that after he had been executed for his crime, the body of the murderous felon, William Winter, was hanged in chains from the gibbet, within sight of the murder scene. At that lonely spot on a gloomy day it wasn't hard to imagine the presence of restless spirits, forever condemned to haunt this place.