Wimp Of The Week

My last post was about my tbr pile, but I thought I ought to report 'mid duty' that I have wimped out of reading one of them - The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters.

I am scared of the dark,.  So what was I thinking when I picked up Waters gothic, ghostly tale, set in a dilapidated mansion in England during the 1940s?  I'll tell you.  I was thinking how scary can a book be?

I once watched the Shining (gotta love Jack doing his demented Johnny Carson impression), on my own, in the top floor flat of an Edwardian mansion, late at night, so I don't consider myself a complete scaredy cat.  So I started, but unlike the late great Magnus Magnusson, I wont be finishing.  I only got a short way through, the suspense killed me.

Has anyone else managed to read it?

My summer holiday tbr pile.

My summer 'to be read' pile originates from a combination of books acquired from my bookclub, the charity shop, a gift and recommendations.  I doubt I will finish any of them as quickly as I finished Caitlin Moran's How To Be  A Woman, my last book - and a spanking good read, or as slowly as Colin Thubron's excellent In Siberia, the book before that.  Some books are destined to be snacks - consumed in a dash, others savoured and relished like a great meal. I just hope none give me word-induced indigestion.

Lost and Found

With 2 school age children we rarely get the chance to kick back in term time.  So the summer holiday is laden with the promise of rest, relaxation and adventure. Six weeks of golden minutes stretching out in front of us, seemingly endless.

I photographed the quote in the 'lost' village in Tyneham, Dorset.  Lost because the residents were asked to move out during the war as the location was deemed ideal for army manoeuvres.   Sadly, the residents were never able to move back. The village still stands, complete with the fully equipped school house, where the quotation still hangs today. A haunting reminder of good times gone by.

Wendi Murdoch, Woman Of The Hour!

*

I'm sure everyone is following the events, and the ever surprising developments regarding the News International scandal.   But surely nobody would have predicted Wendi being the headliner today.   Quite literally flying to her husband, Rupert Murdochs defence, she made James Murdoch look like a dithering wuss in his reactions.  I've watched her flying right hook several times, and I have to say, you went girl!  


* Alistair Sim as the original St Trinians headmistress, is it obvious I struggled to find an image that conveyed Wendi's strength of purpose?!

The Great Gatsby

On Etsy where I have a bookshop, you can build a showcase for other shops products, it's called a treasury.  I usually build a treasury around the theme of a book title.  Click on the link below if you would like to see what I have picked for a treasury homage to F Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece;

The Great Gatsby

Etsy BeauBazaar

Oh I Do Like To be Beside The Seaside

This last weekend I was lucky enough to go to the seaside

I walked along cliff top paths to lovely villages

and besides harbours filled with colourful, rocking boats

 I found this rock that I think looks like a sharks mouth

and spotted a real creature - a seal 

it looked a bit like a polar bear!

That was 4,000 years ago, last Monday.

South Bank Sunday

Yesterday I was able to wander along the South Bank in London and take photos of the great buzz that is being created there for the summer.

This is a mosaic map of the river, that was mounted on the side of a customised beach hut.   Can you see The Wheel, OXO Tower and the Houses of Parliament?

One of the beaches. This one was for display only.   There was another larger one, similar to the one created annually on the banks of the Seine, full of children making sandcastles.

The bunting was plentiful

The ice cream van was retro

One of the customised beach huts

This installation was highlighting free speech, with writing by authors banned in their own counties, flying free up into the air.

There were stalls of different types of food

It was fun

I love London for being so vibrant.

White Van Man In Romantic Gesture Shocker!

Whilst walking on my way to the train station the other day along a long straight avenue,  I saw a white van pull up.  The man inside got out and tucked this red, red rose under the windscreen wiper of a parked car. An old man was also watching on the other side of the road, and he chuckled when I took this shot, I couldn't resist taking a photo of such a romantic act.

A Cake For Summer

The first time I tasted this cake was in Geneva, it was baked by my friend Jane. It's now a firm family favourite. The sharp tang of lemons and the distinctive taste of the almonds signals the start of summer for me. I don't have a nice photo of one of the many I have made, hence the random photo of Versoix and Lake Leman. 

Lemon And Almond Damp Cake - From Nigella Lawsons book; How to be a Domestic Goddess

225 g soft unsalted butter
225 g castor sugar
4 large eggs
50 g plain flour
225 g ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon almond essence
zest and juice from 2 lemons


Butter and line a 21 cm springform cake tin. Preheat the oven to 180C.  Cream together the butter and sugar until almost white. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a quarter of the flour after each addition. When all the eggs and flour have been incorporated, gently stir in the ground almonds, then the almond essence, lemon zest and juice.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for about 1 hour. Cover with foil after about 30 minutes, once the top is lightly browned. The cake is ready when the top is firm, and a skewer, inserted, comes out cleanish - you want dampness, but not gooey batter. Take the cake out and let it stand for 5 minutes or so in the tin. Then turn it out on a wire rack and leave till cool.

The cake lasts well, and even improves, over two days, if wrapped well in foil. Sift icing sugar over the top when serving. It is a very plain looking cake but if you take on board my favourite Nigella serving suggestion, ' I can't help myself murmuring raspberries', it looks positively glamourous.

Bon appetit.