At times "things" just really seem to take over in life. This last week has been somewhat manic: work, trying to sell our flat, trying to buy the house of our dreams, and all this in unbelievably hot weather! This weekend Mr C and I are off to visit my parents "oop North". I'm looking forwards to getting away for a couple of days. Unfortunately the weather forecast isn't looking good, but if we pack our waterproofs we might still be able outdoors and into the fresh air. I'm just hoping that things will be a bit calmer next week! ... read more
Archives for July 2008
Swimming for free
It's been such a hot day in London today that by the time I got the train home after work I desperately wanted to go somewhere cool and refreshing. Luckily Mr C and I have been collecting the vouchers from Kelloggs' Start as part of their Swim Challenge. There is one voucher free on every box of cereal and one voucher entitles one person to a free swim at a variety of places around the UK. The nearest place to where we live is the Cannons Gym in St Albans. Mr C and I used to be members of this gym and only left as the membership fees were becoming so large. It's therefore nice to be able to ... read more
Working Party Sunday
Another working party Sunday at the WWA this morning. Quite a lot of work to do as the whole site seems to be springing up in front of our eyes. My efforts today concentrated on removing nettles and brambles that were starting to overhang the paths in the Orchard. Others worked on clearing more of the butterfly garden and removing overgrowing plants and weeds from the channel between the River Ver and the Mere on the reserve. The summer heat made working conditions very different from the May working party but equally difficult in their own way. The refreshments (cold apple juice and homemade ... read more
Bruce Bogtrotter’s Heroic Chocolate Cake
Last night Mr C and I were attending a local nature reserve committee meeting. The meeting was originally supposed to be last week, the night before my birthday, and hence I had planned to take along some birthday cake. The meeting was re-arranged though, but I still thought cake was in order. As it was supposed to be a birthday cake I thought that chocolate cake had to be in order. I searched all my cookbooks and decided upon a recipe for "Bruce Bogtrtter's Heroic Chocolate Cake" from Jane Brocket's Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer: A Golden Treasury of Classic Treats. Until I read Jane's book I ... read more
A Clergyman’s Daughter – George Orwell
One thing I enjoy about buying more of my books from charity shops is that I don't always know what I will be reading next and I often end up reading fantastic books that I might not have normally chosen. Frequently I find quite a few classic books in charity shops my latest read certainly fell into that category. Secondary school was where I first came across the works of George Orwell and I read Animal Farm as part of my GCSE English course. I've always meant to read more of his works, but had not got round to doing so until I picked up a copy of A Clergyman's Daughter recently. Orwell ... read more
Land Girls and Lumber Jills
I'm always fascinated about the what life was like living in Britain during the 2nd World War, especially for those women left at home whilst their husbands and brothers fought in the military overseas. I was therefore pleased to see a couple of articles on the BBC News website today about the Land Girls and Lumber Jills receiving official recognition for the role that they played during the War. It is sad that they have had to wait for so long, but better late than never. The stories of some of these women are fascinating. I found this photojournal online, but I'll certainly be looking out ... read more
Japanese Recycling
I came across this article on the BBC news website last week and ever since then I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Kamikatsu is a village in Eastern Japan that is described as "zero waste". Everything there is recycled. Individuals have to take full responsibility for all their waste and there are no waste collections from houses. Admittedly the scheme is far from perfect, but it is interesting to read about some of the things that they are able to recycle that we can't here in the UK. The incentives that are mentioned are also an interesting idea - I personally think that glass ... read more
Act of Faith – Erica James
The very second paragraph of this book worried me: 'Oh, get a life you silly little man,' she muttered, bringing to an end the ramblings of the out-of-his-tree caller from Redditch - a crank who had been advocating a world economy based on homespun bartering. Honestly, was there anything worse than a born-again down-shifter? The alarm bells were ringing at this point and I read on with some trepidation. I'm very pleased to say though that once I'd got over this first obstacle Act Of Faith turned into a thoroughly enjoyable book - if a tad predictable at times. It tells the story of Ali ... read more
A magical weekend in Jersey
I've just returned from what was quite simply the best weekend away I've ever had. It was my birthday last Friday so Mr C organised a weekend away for us and we went to Jersey. Now I've always wanted to travel to the Channel Islands as I've head so much about the scenery and have always wanted to learn more about what life on the Islands was like during the war-time German Occupation. I'll provide more details of our trip later (once I've finished unpacking and the mountain of washing that's come back with us) but it summarise Jersey is quite simply spectacular and the people there are some of ... read more
Rowan Bamboo Tape
On my way home from work on Wednesday I called in at a local John Lewis store with the hope that I might be able to find a haberdashery bargain in their famous Clearance. I'd already popped into one of their stores at the weekend and found a few things reduced, but I'd heard rumours that further reductions had been made now that they're into the final week of the sale. It seems I wasn't to be disappointed! For the grand total of £21 I managed to get 17 balls of Rowan bamboo tape in shade 714 ember. It looks simply divine and feels so so soft! In that price I also managed to get a copy of the ... read more