Men in Skirts

Yesterday we were delegated taxi duties for Nerea and Alex who were going to watch the rugby at Murrayfield. Not being interested in team sports, I’d never before found myself in the middle of a “big game atmosphere” and had no idea of what to expect.  So, I was pleasantly surprised to find the crowds extremely friendly, with lots of good natured banter and singing. Best of all were the cross-dressing Frenchmen who fully embraced the concept of modelling tartan skirts along with their berets or feathered poulet hats.  But it was the kilted Scotsmen who really rocked the look!

Conjunctivitus

Thanks to my darling daughter, I’ve developed conjunctivitis.  Nerea succumbed last week and now I’m suffering.  As a contact lens wearer, it’s more than inconvenient.  Today, I attended a writing workshop where reading aloud was part of the programme.  Wearing ancient glasses, I could barely read my own handwriting, which isn’t great at the best of times, let alone the typewritten extracts from a variety of travel authors. But it could have been worse.   I was able to start the antibiotic eyedrops yesterday, so by the time the weekend is over, my reddened, bloodshot eyes should be returning to normal

So how was it?

Unbelievably, I’ve begun fulfilling a New Year resolution.  I’ve been determined to write more, learning techniques that will help transform my mundane musings into readable material.  But, recently, writing time has been on a downward spiral; work, albeit necessary, really is incredibly inconvenient, so I’d begun to despair. And then Andy saw the advert: a travel writing workshop in the library. SIGN ME UP IMMEDIATELY!

So, how was it for me?  Simply perfect!  I was incredibly lucky to share this afternoon with a group of talented, creative and generous people.  I’ve been inspired to progress.  Thank you all so much

My daughter, my inspiration

 Nerea celebrated her 18th birthday at the weekend so it was a time for love, tears and laughter. One of her gifts was a collage of random photos and it was so rewarding to share them with her, remembering where they’d been taken and what we’d been doing. Reminiscing made me consider writing a letter to Nerea, sharing some of my memories of the past 18 years, but also looking to the future.  So write I did, keeping it personal by writing longhand.  It was a surprisingly emotional but rewarding letter to write and we're both so pleased I did.

Frosty wind made moan.....

The wind is extraordinarily strong today.  Lorries have been blown over on the motorway and at 5.30am, I thought a gust was about to lift the house roof off!  Its strength hadn’t abated when I left for work so I took the safer option and walked in rather than be blown off my bike.  Now, the ill-fitting office windows are moaning and shrieking in a manner worthy of a Christopher Lee horror movie.  It’s somewhat distracting on a telephone call as few callers are familiar with the vagaries of the building, and to them, it sounds quite disturbing and unsettling.

Apple Cake

I made an apple cake on Sunday with some Bramley apples I’d found lurking in the back of the fridge.  I’d been saving the recipe for such an occasion (despite my good intentions to reduce my cake intake) and I wasn’t disappointed.  It had a lovely light texture as it was made by whisking eggs and sugar together before adding the other ingredients.   Andy, Molly and I munched on 2 large slabs as we hunkered down in a frosty peat hag below the summit of Arkleton Hill yesterday. It proved to be an extremely tasty part of our packed lunch

Dutch Apple Cake


Ingredients
2 eggs
175g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
85g butter
75ml milk
125g SR flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 tbsp Demerara sugar


Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Line the sides and base of a 20cm cake tin with parchment paper.
2. Using an electric whisk, whisk the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl until the mixture is thick and mousse-like and the whisk leaves a figure of eight pattern (This will take about 5 minutes). 
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan with the milk, then pour onto the eggs, whisking all the time. Sift in the flour, cinnamon and baking powder and fold carefully into the batter so that there are no lumps of flour. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface.
4. Arrange the apple slices over the batter. (They will sink to the bottom.) Sprinkle over the 2 tablespoons of Demerara sugar and bake in the oven for ten minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180C/gas 4 and bake for a further 20±25 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.
5. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin before cutting into slices

Arkleton Hill

Our New Year walk up Arkleton Hill yesterday really blew the cobwebs away.  Arkleton is close to the Border town of Langholm, famous for its annual  historic Common Riding.  Arkleton House, passed at the start of the walk is a wonderful gothic, grey Scottish pile and was the former home of MP Walter Scott Eliot who was murdered by his butler, Archibald Hall, infamous for having a holiday house in Newton Arlosh, Cumbria.  Although the hill tops out at 520m, it still provides stunning views across the rolling border hills and is well worthy of a summit bid (and geocache)!