What a difference a day makes

My cycle into work today was in complete contrast to my foggy journey home yesterday.  An eerie stillness interrupted only by a shrieking siren accompanied my late afternoon ride along the river, the lack of bird song emphasising the oppressiveness of the chilly, grey blanket that enveloped me.  This morning was a different story altogether, with an irritable duck loudly berating the rest of his paddle (clearly, not a morning Mallard) and several blackbirds singing cheerfully in the trees overhead.  And with very few cars crossing Eden Bridge, the traffic noise was merely a comforting murmur as I pedalled along!

Christmas Traditions

Although I’m not overly sentimental, maintaining traditions seems to matter at Christmas. We resolutely decorate our tree on Christmas Eve with an eclectic mix of baubles and take it down on 6 January, long after most people have tidied their decorations away. Our Christmas cake reposes on my mum’s cut glass stand (which only ever saw the light of day in my childhood home at Christmas) and just like Mum, I make mince pies on Christmas Eve.  However I suspect that particular tradition was born originally out of her dis-organisation so clearly the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!!

                                              

On the 5th day of Christmas....

On this 5th day of Christmas, I was reflecting that although the public hype begins  earlier each year, Christmas now seems to be over once the last cracker has been pulled on Christmas Day itself. Even my limited forays into social media have informed me that in the homes of several friends, Christmas trees and decorations have been taken down already and that the stressful run up to the festivities may not have delivered The Perfect Day. Perhaps, surprisingly, our determination to avoid the hysteria and have a quiet and peaceful Christmas means we can actually enjoy it for longer

Calamitous events come in threes!

Last week, cycling by the river, I skidded and fell off my bike, landing inevitably on my right shoulder, which has only just repaired itself after I tore my rotator cuff in June.  Then I developed tonsils the size of melons and a sore throat so rough that I could have sand-papered a forest of trees. That caused us to miss a festive Ceilidh.  Finally, one of the unpredictable nerve pains that I developed after my shingles outbreak, returned to plague me in the dark hours of the other night.  So hopefully, that’s it.  No more incidents for a while!

Nursery Pudding!

On Tuesday evening, a friend came for dinner.  I was just preparing a baked cheesecake dessert when Andy, who was catching up on a cookery show, spotted that one of the featured dishes was a steamed, treacle pudding.  He immediately suggested that I cease production of the cheesecake and serve a syrup pud instead as “B would enjoy it”.  Other, stronger, women would have told him to make it himself but sad, sweet-toothed individual that I am, I was tempted myself.  Enough said! Several hours later, we tucked into sponge and custard and the cheesecake was ready for the freezer!

 

Treacle Pudding by Angela Hartnett

Ingredients

180g/6oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

3 tbsp golden syrup

180g/6oz plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

3 free-range eggs

180g/6oz Demerara sugar

1 tbsp black treacle

Preparation method

1. Grease a 1litre/1¾ pints pudding basin with butter. Put the golden

syrup in to the bottom of the basin.

2. In a separate bowl, using an electric hand whisk, mix the flour,

baking powder, butter, eggs, sugar and treacle until well combined.

3. Pour the mixture into the basin and cover with a piece of greaseproof

paper.

4. Take a piece of tin foil and make a pleat down the middle, then place

this over the top of pudding basin and tie it in place like a lid. The

pleat allows the foil to expand during cooking.

5. Place an upturned saucer or a ramekin in a deep saucepan and sit

the pudding on top. Add boiling water until it comes half-way up the

basin. Place a lid on the pan and simmer gently to stream the

pudding for about 2¼ hours, topping up the water as necessary.

6. To check if the pudding is cooked, insert a metal skewer into the

pudding. If it comes out clean it is ready.

7. Carefully remove the pudding from the pan. Loosen the edges by

running a knife around the pudding and turn out onto a plate

Loch Lochy

Our pre-Christmas break upto Loch Lochy was perfect.   We had no real idea of what to expect but the snowy landscape, lovely hotel and complete absence of pre-Christmas hullabaloo was just what we needed.  I was feeling a tad smug as I had at least posted all my Christmas Cards earlier in the week so was able to maximise the opportunity to relax.  The weather was damp and misty as is so often the case in the Highlands but we still got out for a couple of walks, found a few geocaches and managed a little bit of Christmas shopping

Cycling in slush

We had a sleety snow storm this morning which made my daily cycle to work somewhat interesting. Sharing a dual cycle/footpath with pedestrians was a challenge in itself, as many of the leaves littering the pavements were frozen and covered in slush so they presented a treacherous surface for the unwary. Despite keeping to a low speed, I was unnerved to see people ahead of me, their ipods plugged into their ears, skittering about with little obvious awareness of what was going on around them. Thankfully, I made it to the office safely, without skidding or taking any one out!

Bah Humbug

It isn’t even half way through December and I’m already heartily sick of Christmas muzak in shops and public places.  It seems that the moment bonfire night is over, we are treated to Wizard, Slade and Wham assaulting our ears wherever to go. Each year, I feel that the over commercialisation of Christmas cannot get any worse but I’m always wrong. It’s clear that there seems to be a belief in the minds of retail marketing managers that the playing of Christmas music will provoke a Pavlovian response in shoppers who will immediately open their wallets and spend, spend, spend

Resilience

My friend’s husband remains critically ill with no sign of improvement.  I can’t begin to imagine how his family must be feeling, the severity of his illness coming as a shock to them.  But my friend and her sister, who naturally is being incredibly supportive, are both strong women, a trait inherited from their mother who was a resilient Irish woman with a big heart.  Thankfully, that quality will sustain them through the coming weeks, whatever the outcome.  Sadly, but inevitably, some of us will find ourselves thrust suddenly into unimaginable situations; it’s important we develop the abilities to cope 

Advent

Despite Nerea being almost 21, I was unsurprised when she insisted on having her pocket Advent calendar filled with treats again this year.  I made it for her when she was a baby and it’s made an appearance every year since, even when she was living abroad.  The only difference is that the contents have changed.  In years gone by, the pockets were filled with  hair slides, chocolate snowmen and novelty stationery items but now, although we still have sweet treats, there are several forms  of chocolate liqueur and alcoholic beverage accompaniments in addition to the sugar canes and Santas!