All He Ever Wanted seemed very different from all the other Anita Shreve books that I have read. Firstly nearly the whole story as told second hand. The character Nicholas Van Tassel recounts the story of him and his wife Etna Bliss and the ups and downs of their married life. The fact that Nicholas is recounting the story doesn't actually add anything to the book though and I was left wondering what the point was. The story that he was telling was easily strong enough to stand up on its own and yet it is instead interrupted every so often by current day Van Tassel ... read more
Archives for September 2008
Hairy Bakers
After seeing it advertised quite a few times I was thrilled this evening to actually catch an episode of the Hairy Bakers on BBC 2.I've been a fan of the duo Dave and Si that make up the Hairy Bikers for a while now and the idea of them doing a whole series on baking seemed like a fantastic idea. There are so many cookery programmes on TV, yet I don't recall a single one that is devoted to baking alone.In the episode I caught tonight (number 2 I believe) the aim was for them to prepare tea at the Henley Regatta and so first they went on a trip to try out various different ... read more
An evening at the seaside
After a day at the River Cottage Festival Mr C and I headed south to the coast and Lyme Regis. Dark clouds were beginning to surround us, but luckily it remained dry for long enough for us to explore the sea front. It was lovely to see a couple of young lads enjoying a hobby that many would associate with people much older. As we explored this part of the beach we found a large number of rock pools to explore. A couple of small fish were spotted, but sadly not much more. This beautiful piece of what I guess is seaweed on a rock really caught my eye. The shades of purple were fantastically ... read more
Visit to River Cottage – part 3
A few final bits from our day at River Cottage HQ. Part of the grounds at RCHQ were used for some rural craft demonstrations and one stall that particularly interested me was that from wilderness survival skills who run courses that teach people, as their names suggests, wilderness survival skills. Having heard all about the various courses they run I'd be really interesting in going on one and might have to work on Mr C to see if he'd be interested in coming with me. Their ten day intensive bushcraft course sounds fantastic, but I'm just not sure I'm ready for ... read more
Visit to River Cottage – part 2
In addition to the demonstrations at the River Cottage Festival there were also various other things going on and we were able to wander round part of their grounds to see the various animals that they have on the farm and the fruit and vegetables that they're growing. One of the first animals that we met was Blossom the pig. In his latest UK television series, River Cottage Spring, Hugh challenged a group of families from Bristol to grow their own food on allotments in the city. As part of this exercise they also kept chickens and pigs for food. Blossom was one of those pigs and is kept ... read more
Visit to River Cottage – part 1
There's so much to say about Sunday's trip to the River Cottage Festival that I'm going to have to split it into multiple posts. It was just such a fantastic day that going through all the photos again brought back some great memories.The Festival was held in the grounds of the River Cottage HQ at Park Farm between Axminster and Lyme Regis and had a variety of stalls and demonstrations covering the range of things that the River Cottage series encapsulates. Mr C and I tried to make the most of the demonstrations that were going on throughout the day. The first one that we ... read more
Lacock
On our way down to Somerset to visit the River Cottage Festival Mr C and I stopped off at Lacock Abbey which is a National Trust property in Wiltshire. I have to admit that we did choose where to visit somewhat at random from the guide book as we headed down the motorway, but as soon as we got there we were certainly happy with the choice we'd made.The Abbey itself is now a country house that was originally a medieval abbey and was the home of William Henry Fox Talbot, the pioneer of photography. One of the things that the Abbey is best known for nowadays is ... read more
River Cottage Mud
Mr C and I are now home from a wonderful weekend in the West Country. The highlight had to be the visit to the River Cottage Festival on Sunday. Much, much more on that when I have the time.Luckily the weather stayed dry for us on the day, but I gather that those attending on the Saturday were not so fortunate. Certainly the amount of mud underfoot meant that the wellies that we bought before leaving St Albans were a necessity! ... read more
Chelsea Physic Garden
Thursday lunchtime I joined the "women wot lunch" from work and visited Chelsea Physic Garden in London. The gardens were founded by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in 1673 and is very much hidden away in Chelsea. In fact, until F suggested going there I have to admit that I hadn't heard of it! Entry price could be considered a bit steep, but luckily F had found some vouchers in a local pub that gave each of us a £2 discount.Apparently the gardens used not to be open to the public, but in 1983 a charity took over the running of the gardens and opened them to the ... read more
Exciting Times
I've got some exciting times coming up over the next month or so.Firstly, Mr C and I off to the River Cottage Festival this weekend. Unfortunately the weather forecast isn't looking too good, but fingers crossed. I'm a bit fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his various television programmes and accompanying books.The week after next I have managed to get myself booked on to a Rowan beginners crochet course that is being held at a local John Lewis. I've been wanting to learn to crochet for ages and am really looking forward ... read more