Letters to the Editor: Science vs. Magic
I am a very proud daughter.
My dad got his letter to the Times printed. In full. In bold. With a photo of a rainbow.
OK, I’ll explain that.
On June 4th, there was an article printed in the Times Opinion pages, by one Raymond Tallis, accusing scientists of suffering from “Darwinitis” and “Neuromania” – seeing our obsession with scientific explanations for the human condition as some kind of disease. Tallis argues that humans are simply not explainable by science, evolution, brain scans and so forth.
Well, my dad responded by saying… Oh hell, read it for yourself; he puts it so well (Dr Alex Christie; click to see the bigger picture)
The little bit of paper in the right hand corner is a response to my dad, printed a day later. So glad the Rev Graham Hellier has such a long, considered response. He entirely misses the point, and just as an aside? Referring to nature as a “she” is a mere colloquialism. Dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Any thoughts?
Music: Fiddler on the Roof
Yesterday, I saw Fiddler on the Roof for the first time. Twice in one day in fact. And I just so happened to be playing bass in the pit.
Lewes Operatic Society were, as usual, fantastic. They all have such great voices and presence in that company, especially the lead playing Tevye (our narrator, and head of the family).
It’s a bit of a miserable story, but it’s littered with jokes and romping tunes, so no worries there. The famous “If I Were A Rich Man” takes centre stage, but I preferred the more sombre “Sabbath Prayer” and “Sunrise, Sunset”.
Definitely worth a look. Lewes Operatic Society put on great shows.
Music: Lewes Operatic Society
Are you near Lewes (Sussex) tomorrow? Then why not take in a show? I’ll be playing in the pit for Lewes Operatic Society’s final performances of Fiddler on the Roof (If I were a rich man, diddly diddle diddle dee…) Can’t wait.
There are two performances tomorrow, a matinée at 2:30 and an evening performance at 7:30. All performances take place in Lewes’ lovely town hall. Tickets are priced at £9 for the matinée and £10 for the evening.
It’d be nice to see some of you in the audience!
Mothering Sunday
Tired, heading back home after a lovely day in Sussex with my mum. So here we go with another cop out post – IKEA towers in the sunset.
Crafty: Patchwork Dreams
Right. That’s it. I’m going to make a patchwork quilt.
You may have seen my recent post about the glory of quilts, and how I said I’ve always wanted to make my on quilt.
Well, I intend to start. Soon. I’ve been picking up various bits of fabric as I’ve seen ones I’ve liked – I’m only going to use bits that really grab me, so this may be a long process.
But after visiting the Patchwork Dog and Basket in Lewes recently, I’m getting closer and closer to actually starting.
And here are the fabrics I have so far:
I’m going for autumnal colours (one of my favourite palettes) – so reds, browns, oranges. The brown-with-mushrooms and the red-with-paws-and-bones are both fat quarters from the fabulous Threadneedles in East Grinstead, whilst the red-with-red-stars (hard to make out in the photo) and the small bundle of four different sand coloured fabrics are both from PD&B in Lewes.
Still lots more to collect before I can really get started, but I’ll keep you posted!
Lewes
Yesterday, I was at my mum’s in Sussex. Given the miserable weather, we decided a day-trip for shopping was in order. So we pootled off to Lewes, for a wander about.
The best place to park in Lewes is, of course, always packed. But we managed to get a spot outside the old Needlemakers indoor market. There is a limit to 2 hours max parking here, but we thought that would be enough time to browse the shops (without frittering away our entire day).
Lewes is a wonderful little old market town, and has evolved into a quite up-market, quaint tourist town (and a fabulous, if on the pricey side, place to shop for the more unusual bits and bobs).
Most of our stay involved looking about in the shops inside the Needlemakers – my favourites being Wickle (where they sold, amongst other things, real beetles set in resin, and postcard booklets entitled “Beautiful Sheep”, “Beautiful Pigs” and “Beautiful Cows”), Skylark (selling a selection of fairtrade craft goods and a variety of unusual books and music) and, of course, not forgetting: The Patchwork Dog and Basket. More on this at a later date – needless to say, they sell goods for patchwork and quilting.
Lewes itself is a lovely place for a general explore – it’s got a lot of hilly bits, which makes for a more interesting walk then a flat town. Oh, and did I mention, it has really unusual shops? Like ones that sell MASSIVE jars of chilli jam?
And in the words of Jackie Chan’s uncle – One more thing! St Michael:
Crafty: Cross-stitch wolf
At my mum’s again this week, so I’ll treat you to another bit from my childhood bedroom!
This beauty is the single biggest and most time consuming cross stitch project I have ever managed to complete. I love it dearly – it has ended up as a work of art.
I’m afraid I can’t remember offhand the name of the pattern designer, but I do know she has produced a series of animals in this style – a gorgeous animal with a Native America style shadow. Other designs include a jewel-coloured hummingbird and a cougar.
This took me over a year to complete. I was going to give it to my ex, but I broke up with him before I finished it. Selfishly, I’m glad I got to keep it 
Films: Tangled
HAH. Weren’t expecting that one, were you? Well, think again. I’m not all angst and darkness. No, contrary to popular belief, I love Disney films. Well, some of them, at any rate.
And Tangled is definitely one of those that I love. I was beginning to get a bit jaded as far as “modern” Disney was concerned, but Rapunzel, her “magic hair that glows when she sings”, the charming Flynn Rider (who, trust me, has more depth than he originally lets on), the brave horse Maximus and the BRILLIANT chameleon Pascal, have most certainly won me over.
OK, OK, this is a pretty saccharine twist on the original Brothers Grimm incarnation, but then, that is the fate of the fairy tale in the modern age – it must be sweet and light (with some mild peril), and of course, it must be moral.
And I’m happy to say, Tangled ticks all the boxes. The goodies are good, the baddies are bad, there are reformed criminals and heroic animals. Someone is called Eugene (a name that has sadly been too long forgotten). There are a lot of very well written songs (yes, it’s semi-musical) including the fantaaaaastic “Mother Knows Best” (brilliant, as I was at the cinema with my mum). I’m still confused as to why Rapunzel had no shoes, but I’m willing to overlook that. It is all beautifully animated (works well in 3D!) and the script is very sweet.
Oh, and there is lots of hair. That’s a given.
Cheers for more reminders that long hair is, in fact, awesome.
WordPress, we have a problem
Ok, like an idiot, I spilt orange squash on my keyboard. So while I wait for it to dry out, I’m posting from my phone (isn’t tech amazing?)
As a result, a long post is out of the question, so you’ll have to make do with a piccy if my mum’s adorable & dorky dog. Again.
The Christmas haul, part 1
Yesterday’s post was a bit ranty, eh? So I’ll go back to what I promised, and ease you out of the rest of 2010 all gentle, like. By sharing some pictures of the Christmas presents I received! Friends and family alike have all been heartwarmingly generous this year, and I hope they all liked what I got for them. Of course, the best gift of all was being able to spend time with so many wonderful people (and eat until I felt sick – the rumours were true, Ben’s sister DOES cook an amazing roast!!). However, you can’t photograph the spirit of togetherness. So here are my material goods:
Lovely new red satin bedsheets are from my brother and his new wifey (Alec&Katie), whilst the St Andrew’s cushions are from my uncle and aunty. Mr Foxy was a little gift to myself – he has a heaty wheaty tummy 
Not one set of headphones, but TWO! Ben made my music-related dreams come true, by buying me these lovely over-ear Skullcandy headphons (HESH in hot pink, and red Lowriders). I’m happy to report that they are awesome.
A squeaky clean and sleepy-looking Ben, standing in the kitchen doorway which has been adorned with all our Christmas cards. He’s also holding one of the four mugs we received this year – quite an achievement! However, I drink a LOT of tea, so this is no bad thing. We got two union jack mugs from my parents, an awesome Ford Capri mug from Alec&Katie, and…
Pac-Man mug!! From my friends Sas and Matt. This is brilliant – it’s plain black when it’s cold, but poor hot water into it and PAC-MAN APPEARS!! Also featured is the adorable sugar shaker Sas and Matt got for us. Oh, and both are sitting on top of the new chopping board Beth got for us Sas and Matt also got me some cute little cupcake-shaped lip balms.
I love love love Marmite. So I was tickled pink when I opened this gift from my mum. There seems to be a lot of Marmite merchandise around at the moment, but a lot of it is frankly quite naff. However, this serving dish (and ceramic spoon) is charming. Not suitable for actually cooking in, and I don’t exactly host dinner parties (no dining room, you see), so in a moment of drunken genius, I decanted my home-made dry porridge mix into it (and spilled a lot of oats all over the kitchen in the process). My parents also got me a bar of “Very Peculiar”, the marmite flavoured chocolate, but that is long gone: it is indeed very peculiar, but also strangely delicious.
And I think that’s about enough for one day! I have so much more to show you, but that can wait for another day.
What about you chaps? What were your favourite Christmas gifts?
Food: The Old House
On Saturday, I went with my family to the Old House restaurant in Copthorne, Sussex. It was supposed to be a table of 7, but as my big bro and his wife got horrifically trapped on the M40 and Ben only managed to get through as we were leaving the restaurant, there was just the four of us. But my dad, my mum, my aunt and I still had a lovely time.
We’ve been to the Old House before. We keep going back – it is lovely. We went there for my mum’s 50th, my 18th and now my mum’s big 6-0. Despite the stupidly low ceilings (it is a period building after all) the place is incredibly charming and the food is amazing.
The staff congratulated us as we ducked through the door, dusting off the snow – I’m sure they had many cancellations that evening due to bad weather. They offered us a seat in their ante-room – sofas by an open fire – and brought us champagne (well, I had a G&T – not actually a fan of champagne) and canapés.
Whilst sipping our drinks, we chose our meals. We were waiting to see if any of the others would get through, but after we got the 8pm call from Adam saying he was turning back, we decided to go through to our table.
What followed was a delicious and tastefully presented meal. I suspect a number of staff were unable to get through that evening, as we were often waited on by the restaurant managers – charming couple.
For starters, I went for smoked salmon with pickled cucumber – the cucumber was surprisingly tangy and complimented the salmon beautifully. Delicious, and I made it disappear very quickly. My mum decided to give starters a miss, and I can’t for the life of me remember what my dad had. My aunty had this gorgeous looking duck liver parfait, served with an intriguing grape chutney and toasted fruit bread:
Main courses arrived seamlessly – in fact, we didn’t have to wait long all evening (not that we were rushed, either – the staff seemed to be very intuitive when it came to timing). We set ourselves up with a bottle of red (Fleurie Cuvee Presidente Margeurite 2009) and a bottle of sparkling water. The birthday girl went for a lovely looking salmon fillet:
…whilst my dad went for twice roast belly of pork (famously the most delicious and least healthy cut of pork). My aunty went for a double whammy of liver, choosing pan fried calves liver, served with bacon, creamed potatoes, roasted shallots and Burgundy jus:
Predictably, I went for the duck breast. Oh yes. Grilled and presented on fondant potato, buttered cabbage and sweet and sour jus. It was, surprisingly, a little bit tough, but otherwise utterly amazing. The sweet cabbage matched the rich flavour of the duck perfectly:
Look! A parcel of beans!
We did manage to fit some sort of pudding in. I just had a liqueur coffee (Kahlua, if you’re interested), but mum went for an amazing vanilla panna cotta (it’s like jelly made of milk! Why have I never had one?) and my aunt had a plum crème brûlée, with a satisfyingly thick sugar crust.
I love the Old House. I doubt this is the last time I’ll go there. Fine, it’s not for the faint hearted – about £50 a head, plus wine – but for a special occasion, it’s perfect. Quality food, a large wine selection and delightful staff. The building itself is charming with its dark wood beams and open fire places, but just mind those low ceilings!
So what are you waiting for? You can even book online at their website…
The Old House Restaurant
Effingham Road
Copthorne
West Sussex
RH10 3JB
Tel: 01342 712222
Fax: 01342 716493
Email: info@oldhouserestaurant.co.uk
Image credits: Old House from their website, the rest are my own.
ARGH snow! Stop EVERYTHING
Woops. It snowed. Quite a bit.
A bit of a pain – it was set to be a Sussex weekend for my family, with my mum’s big birthday meal on Saturday, and a “Christie-mas” celebration on Sunday. I got there mainly in one piece, with minimal delays (I took public transport, believe it if you will). However, Ben had to work in east London in the morning, and ended up getting to the restaurant just as we were finishing our meal.
Nothing compared to my eldest brother and his wife – based in the West Midlands, they left home at around 2pm. They phoned at around 8pm, saying they were still on the M40 and were heading back home. They got back home at 4am. Heroic, and I’m very sad they were thwarted in their efforts.
That said, the four of us (me, mum, dad and aunty) had a lovely meal (I’ll blog about that another day – knackered at the mo and not up for a foodie review) on Saturday.
On Sunday, we congregated in the living room around 9-10am, for tiny mince pieces, tea and present unwrapping. Yay! I’ll have a proper “haul” round up after “real” Christmas.
My family lay out a fantastic spread, so between then and lunch, we had bubbly and nibbles (sweet chilli prawns, tandoori chicken pieces, hard boiled quails eggs and bruschetta with dinky Belgian shrimp). Then, whilst the adults were cooking the roast, Ben and I headed outside to pester the dog.
Oops! Fell over.
I don’t think I need to explain that the Sunday roast was fantastic – beef, croquettes, parsnips, sprouts, carrots, stuffing and lashings of gravy. Followed by a flaming pudding and brandy custard (trust me, it’s champion).
I think I’m still full.
Food: Festive baking
What is it about Christmas that has made me all domestic goddessy? Last night, I was up until 1am baking for family. It was lovely, and the flat still smells gorgeous.
When it comes to baking, I like it to be simple and delicious – I like making tray bakes and cookies, because there’s no fiddleness involved. Having watched my mum assemble beautiful cakes for many years (she regularly supplies to her local coffee shop), I know how much work is involved there. I don’t know if I can hack it…
But shortbread. WOW. So, so easy. And add glacé cherries and BAM – Christmassy. And cheese twists? Make them cheese STARS instead! BAM – Christmassy. What are your favourite Christmas bakes?
Food: Glühwein
OK, drink, not food. But it is most definitely cold out there! It’s time for some mulled wine (known as Glühwein in Germany – it’s a cool word). I made my first batch of mulled wine over the weekend, as temperatures plummeted. There is nothing quite like mulled wine to cut through the chill in your bones. Yes, you can get a mug of mulled wine in Hyde Park and what not, but it’s a lot cheaper just to make your own. And very satisfying!
I could have gone out to buy a bottle of cheap red and an orange, but I couldn’t face leaving the house again, so I just worked with what I had: a bottle of my dad’s home made light red wine (made with Sussex grapes – delicious!).
Oh, you want some? Too bad: we drank it all (gets you squiffy quick!) so you’ll just have to make some of your own The recipe is just guidelines: tweak sugar and spice to your liking. Some recipes suggest stirring in some sloe gin, but it’s alcoholic enough for me already, thankyouverymuch. You might be less of a lightweight. I leave the decision up to you.
You will need:
- A bottle of red wine. It doesn’t have to be expensive!
- Some smooth orange juice – half a glass?
- Approx. 60g light brown sugar (adjust to taste)
- A stick of cinnamon
- Half a dozen cloves
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- Other spices, if you have them!
Cooks away!
- Pretty much a one step pony. Tip EVERYTHING into a saucepan. Put the lid on. Heat through – DO NOT BOIL. Just enough for the sugar to dissolve. Simmer for about 10 mins, until it’s nice and hot and the spices have a chance to permeate the liquid.
- And that’s it. Just pour in to mugs, and drink. If you don’t drink the lot in one evening (hah!) then just put the lid on the saucepan and leave it for another evening. When you come back to it, you can just decant into mugs and microwave it hot
ENJOY! For me, this is THE drink for winter. No competition.
Image credits: I found this pic on several websites, so I have NO idea where it’s originally from.
Do not go gentle into that good night…
WARNING: Philosophy in progress
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
-Dylan Thomas
I have been thinking a lot about death lately. It is hardly surprising: I have suffered a great deal of loss this year, with Ben’s aunt Flossy dying last Boxing day, then his beloved dog Laura in April. Soon after my birthday, in May, I lost the last of my grandparents: my dad flew over from Dubai to bury his mother. I was too upset to even write a coherent tribute post for that particular loss.
Then last week, I heard the sudden, unexpected and painful news that Janet McCleery, the singing teacher that set me on the road of beautiful musicianship, had passed away in her sleep.
I heard from someone at Ardingly (one of the several places in Sussex that she taught organ and singing) that Janet was discovered when she did not turn up for an engagement, and the person involved called the police. Quite a testament to her reliability. Apparently, they broke into the house and found her in bed, seemingly having died in her sleep – a lovely peaceful way for her to go, but shocking for everyone else; especially as she was not that old either (67).
I went to her Requiem Mass held at Worth Church in Sussex just yesterday morning. I found the majority of the service to be sadly unmoving: the priest talked at length about Janet’s religious faith (which I never once discussed with Janet in the many years I knew her) but only mentioned her incredible musicality once (which was, in my eyes, the driving force of her life).
Please, don’t get me wrong: I may be an atheist, but I am a non-aggressive atheist. I don’t mind religion. People can believe what they want to believe. However, I think it is frankly quite insulting that priest was given so much space to say so much about so little. A large percentage of the congregation (myself included) chose not to step up for Communion or even a blessing, illustrating that they were not their for the religion, but there to celebrate the life of a wonderful, humble, caring, devoted, talented and inspiring woman.
It was only when the choir sang Fauré’s “In Paradisum” and Michael Oakley (head of music at Worth school) made an impassioned, moving, and personal speech in memory of Janet, that I truly felt moved. I admire Michael greatly for pushing on with his words of tribute for this wonderful woman, despite the fact that he was obviously struggling with emotion.
I am sorry that I didn’t see her all that often in recent years. I can’t remember the last time I spoke to her, but it will have been many months, if not a year or two. That fact pains me greatly: she was a huge, positive influence in my life.
Rest in peace, Janet. You live on in the many lives you touched, the many people you shared your music with, the many eager young musicians you trained.
Music: Gloria in Excelsis
On Saturday, I went down to Lancing in West Sussex to play my double bass again. This time, I was playing for the Worthing Choral Society, under the direction of the wonderful Aedan Kearney. I have played for Aedan before, several times whilst he was still teaching at Boundstone College, but now he has been retired for two years, he has been pulling me in for other groups. I don’t think I’ve played for WCS before, but I very much enjoyed it.
However, the venue was familiar to me: St Michael & All Angels is a cute little church, with a public car park across the road: a nightmare to get the car in, because the entrance is dangerously narrow (many streaks of car paint on either wall, but my mum has amazing spatial awareness). What we also remembered from our last visit to St Michael’s is the fantastic pizza shop within spitting distance of the church, so dinner was sorted (I had a kebab, but that’s not the point).
The bass parts were a bit more challenging than last week: I find this with classical music from the Classical period (you’ll have to look that up if you’re not musicky), because composers tend to just lump the bass with the ‘cello, not realising that the two instruments simply do not function in the same way. Last week’s Baroque programme had more suitable parts for the bass, but that’s the luck of the draw. I made a few boo-boos, but nothing terribly noticeable, especially as the choir made a couple of boo-boos themselves. That sounds cruel, and don’t get me wrong: WSC are a great choir, but not the most professional I’ve ever played for. Notably, the sopranos were not quite reaching their top notes, their was a gradual flattening of pitch through quite a few passages, and there was the “heads in copies” phenomenon, which meant that the tempo of the choir didn’t always match the tempo of the conductor.
Non-music related gripes: one choir member fumble with a packet of tissues during the soprano soloist’s incredibly quiet Laudete Dominum. Also, all the ladies in the choir brought their handbags on stage with them, which looked really messy. And finally, during the rehearsal, when my bass was lying on the floor and I was sitting down nearby, one lady thought it’d be ok to step over the bass’ neck, rather than going around it: any bass player will tell you this is a CARDINAL SIN. She would be crying all the way to the bank if she’d kicked it over, because she would be paying for the repairs. And the worst thing was that she ignored me when I asked her NOT to do it. Hmm.
OK, let’s put that aside for the time being, and turn to the programme: Mozart’s “Vesperae solennes de confessore” and Haydn’s “Nelson Mass”. Neither works I’ve played before, but both challenged me and I enjoyed them. There was a particular passage in the Haydn that the viola, ‘cello and bass get to play in unison, which is very twee but good fun, and I could see Russ (the viola player, who I keep bumping in to all over Sussex) grinning at this musical joke.
The concert itself was very enjoyable – not moving like the concert last week, but a fun romp through some strong tunes. It is always a pleasure to play under Aedan, and the assembled orchestra were fantastic, so it was an honour to play with them. I hope to be down in Lancing again, because there is a lovely sense of community amongst this group. There was a great audience turn out, and they all seemed to enjoy the performance. So my thanks and congratulations to Aedan and the WCS!
N.B. my mum’s doggy really enjoyed her walk on the beach. Bonus.
Music: The Splendour of Baroque
Wow, someone’s had a busy week. Came to a lovely end with the above concert in Hastings. I was really looking forward to this: I love the intimacy of Baroque music (an orchestra of around a dozen players) and it’s been ages since I actually played the bass. Unfortunately, what I didn’t realise is that it takes about 2.5 hours to get from my door to Hastings by train. Annoying on the way there, but exhausting on the way back: I had arranged for Ben to pick me up from Clapham Junction at 11:40pm, but unfortunately I fell asleep and had to phone him sheepishly from Victoria. But worry not: I got home, had a cup of tea and then slept in until 10am.
But back to the concert. I have played for Hastings Philharmonic Choir once before (in the White Rock theatre), so I knew that they were of a high standard, and that their conductor (the delightful and talented Hilary Davan Wetton) takes no prisoners. What I didn’t know was that St. Mary in the Castle is such an unusual and suitable venue to play in.
The entrance to the place is set on the roadside there at the bottom, between a chip shop and a gift shop. When we arrived, I wasn’t even sure it was the right place. But you go in, towards the back (and into the cliff face, I suspect) and up a spiral staircase (tricky with a double bass) and suddenly you are in a generously sized concert auditorium.
We played quite a short concert (starting at 7:30 and finishing just after 9, with a 20 minute interval) but it was beautifully put together, finishing with a clean performance of Vivaldi’s “Gloria”. With the choir, we also did a few Handel anthems and some Pergolesi. The orchestra got their chance to shine on their own as well, starting the concert with a beautiful Purcell piece and later, Bach’s famous “Air on a G String”.
As always, there were a few familiar faces (wherever I play in Sussex, I always seem to bump into a few people I know) and it was a pleasure to play with such talented musicians. Whilst it’s a long way to go, it’s always very much worth it. Plus, it keeps my musical mind working hard – the bass continuos of Baroque music are perfect for technical practice!
Oh yes: and it gives me a chance to remind my bass that I still love him
Image credits: Concert flyer from HPC, exterior of St Mary in the Castle from Wikipedia, the rest are mine
Friday slump
Sorry chaps – a bit of a slow news day today. Maybe it’s because I haven’t actually done much for the past two days except studying and house work (and teasing the rats).
So, maybe I should share with you interesting things I’m looking forward to in the next few months? Would that be dull? Too bad, that’s what I’m doing.
OK, first things first: today is Ben’s birthday! Hurray Happy birthday, Mr. Fox.
Hurrah I love this man.
I’m not going to tell you what I have planned for his birthday, because that will ruin tomorrow’s blog post. Needless to say, it involves the Royal Institution.
Next up comes Halloween. I’m not hugely in to Halloween, but when I was invited by Vin (with the big house) to a Murder Mystery party, how on earth could I say no? Again, I won’t divulge too much, because that will probably be Sunday’s post… Ahha.
Ongoing are the weekly ICN seminars – these are every Monday at UCL’s ICN building, Queen Square (nearest tube: Russell Square). They’re free and open to the public (a great incentive for Miserly Student) and, whilst quite heavy going, they are incredibly diverse and interesting.
I plan next week to go to the Natural History Museum’s wildlife photographer of the year exhibition with Angharad next Thursday – I didn’t go to last years, but I did browse the winning images online. I regret not going. So, I don’t intend to feel the same regret again. It’s on from 22 October 2010 – 11 March 2011, 10.00 – 17.50 daily, and tickets are: Adult £9, Family £24 (up to 2 adults and up to 3 children), child and concessions £4.50. It is of course free to Members, Patrons and children aged 3 and under.
Very, very importantly: the EAC’s Cambridge concert!! Last week I blogged about our successful Dorking concert, but we’re taking the same programme to St John’s College, Cambridge. The important differences: we will have a full orchestra rather than simply organ, and there are going to be some incredibly important people in the audience. Fingers crossed, but this is going to be a very important concert for us. Fancy coming? PLEASE do. You won’t regret it, I swear.
I do have other concerts coming up, but they are in Sussex, with my double bass I haven’t played poor old bassey for a while, so it will be really lovely to playing again. The concerts I’m playing at are all around the south coast.
- On the 13th November I will be in Hastings, St. Mary-in-the-Castle, for the Hastings Philharmonic Choir’s “Splendour of Baroque” concert
- On the 20th November I will be in Worthing with Boundstone College for their Autumn concert (I haven’t received final details on this yet, so unfortunately can’t link you to anything)
- On the 3rd December, I will be at Roedean School in Brighton for their gala concert – a special of “spooky” classics apparently!
Somewhere in there, I plan to make my way to the Wellcome collection for a day out, to the Freud museum, and a trip back to the Science Museum to see their temporary exhibition all about psychoanalysis. As far as the Wellcome Collection is concerned, I have been browsing through their events calender, and whilst I want to see EVERYTHING, I have had to concede defeat and admit that isn’t possible. However, I will be taking in some of the events, including Describing the Drug Experience (yes, I already have a ticket). Another talk I have already booked for is The Brain of the Future, a BPS hosted lecture given by Baroness Susan Greenfield on 8th November. I imagine tickets for this are already sold out, but if you’re interested, it’s always worth inquiring!
Which brings us hurtling into December. December is going to be busy. It’s busy enough with the whole Christmas thing, but then it’s also my Mum’s big 6-0 and the younger of my two brothers is getting married. Eek. Where did 2010 go?
Food: The salmon with clout
As opposed to the salmon of doubt. See what I did there?
I’ve been at my mum’s again. She is still trying to offload courgettes on me (I’m not complaining), so lunch was another round of the previously featured courgette gratin.
But this time, I had another one of her ingenious creations alongside it. Ichthyophobes look away now: I had baked salmon fillet wrapped in parma ham.
This is a very easy way to perk up salmon. Not that salmon particularly needs perking, but sometimes it’s nice to give something a simple twist, to mix things up a bit.
Want it? It’s unbelievably simple. And I’ll even throw in some suitable side dishes, if for some bizarre reason you don’t fancy courgette gratin. I apologise for the vagueness of this recipe – I do not write recipes for a living. Go with your gut, I guess.
You will need:
- One salmon fillet per person (I don’t know – as big as you like it to be, although if it’s REALLY big bear in mind you will have to cook them longer)
- One slice of parma ham per person
- Some potatoes for MASHIN’
- A jar of green pesto (or make your own, if you’ve got time to kill – personally, I do not)
- Olive oil
- A punnet of cherry tomatoes
- Sooooome herbs. Herbs de provence maybe? Whatever tickle your fancy.
Make it!
- OK, before you turn on the oven, you need a shallow overproof dish. Tip in the cherry tomatoes (just a single layer – don’t pile them), slosh over olive oil (enough to coat them) and sprinkle on some herbs for FLAVA.
- Now, bung the toms in the oven, and whack it up to 190C – it’s ok, you weren’t MEANT to reheat it. Trust me.
- Whilst the oven is heating up (with the toms in it), wrap your salmon fillet in a slice of parma ham. Do this as many times as you need servings. Put the fillet(s) on a baking tray, and once the oven has actually REACHED 190C, pop the salmon in
- The salmon will take about 25mins to cook through, which is about the same amount of extra time the toms need. Perfect.
- Whilst the salmon and toms are cooking, make up your mash. Any method will do, I really don’t care. Whatever makes good mash for you. Try not to add TOO much cream/butter/whatever, because once the mash is made…
- Add pesto to it! This makes green mash. What not to love? The amount of pesto you use depends on how much mash you’ve made. Just keep adding until it’s beautifully green and tastes nommy. Pesto is no bad thing.
- Once you’re done, the toms will be lovely and mooshy and the parma ham will be lovely and crisp. Dish up, and put some more pesto on you salmon – trust me.
- BEAR IN MIND that the toms WILL be volcanically hot. What is it with my mum making food that BURNS you? Oh well. It’s delicious.
Enjoy. It’s ok – you don’t have to thank me
Don’t like fish? Try it with chicken I guess. I have no idea how long it’d take to cook. You might want to check the net for a recipe for that… Hmm.
Food: Zucchini fun
Who has ever grown their own vegetables? It’s very satisfying. Unfortunately, in our current flat, there is simply no space to grow anything (I don’t care what Jamie Oliver says – I am not growing tomatoes on my window sill). But my mum’s situation is a different story – she lives in gorgeous Sussex, and whilst she had a “town house”, she has an enormous garden. It’s full of fruit trees, berry crops and a large vegetable patch. I’m fairly sure that she could quite happily live without ever buying any fruit and veg. As my dad works abroad and my brothers and I have all moved out, she produces more fruit and veg than she could ever eat by herself.
(OK, not a photo of my mum’s garden – just another gratuitous photo of her gorgeous lurcher puppy, Dusky.)
Fruit is fine – my mum’s basement is crammed with jars of homemade jams. Veg is a little more tricky – certain veg freezes or pickles really well, but for things like courgettes (or zucchinis as they’re sometimes known) this isn’t really the best option. Another issue with courgettes, as many veg gardeners will know, is that you don’t just get one or two: you end up with dozens on each plant.
So, about this time of year, every time I visit my mum, she has a massive pot of courgette soup on the go, has courgettes for me to take home with me, and then cooks me something with courgettes as the headline act for supper.
My mum has been kind enough to share her recipe for courgette gratin with me, and I in turn am passing it on to you! This can be used as a side dish (yesterday, I got it with tuna steak and chips) or can quite happily stand alone as a main meal.
COURGETTE AND TOMATOES AU GRATIN
- Courgettes (sliced) – I imagine 2 or 3 should be fine
- Olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- Grated cheese (Mozarella or Cheddar)
- 4 large tomatoes (sliced)
- Grated Parmesan
- 2 eggs
- Salt and pepper if required
Pick a good quality cheese as this definitely changes the whole flavour of the dish. I’m sure you can use some different cheeses if you like: get creative. Brie tempts me, always. Or maybe Bavarian smoked cheese.
As for quantities: use your initiative when decided how much cheese to use in the dish. You need enough for layers in between your veg
Make it:
- Preheat oven to 190C.
- Arrange layers of sliced courgette, tomatoes and grated cheese in an ovenproof dish (layer it up a bit like a lasagne – courgette, tomato, cheese, courgette, tomato, cheese… until your dish is full!)
- Sprinkle top with Parmesan and ground black pepper. I think the cheese in this dish makes added salt unnecessary – I rarely ever add salt to my cooking. However, pepper is good in pretty much everything!
- Bake in oven for 30 mins.
- Beat the eggs and pour over the top of the courgette and tomato – it should distribute nicely throughout the dish, but don’t worry if it pools a bit. You might want to give it a gentle shake to encourage it down through the different layers.
- Put it back in oven for another 10-15 mins. And you’re done! Be aware that your dish will be VOLCANICALLY hot. Cheese has a habit of holding heat that is only matched by potato. So, you have been warn. Dish up, but mind your tongue!
Cleaning up your mess
I spent my weekend in Sussex, with my lovely mum. We had a great time, catching up, eating and pestering the dog.
Dusky the lurcher
But my visit was not just to chin wag and to get fat off my mum’s superb cooking. Oh, no. The deal is: my parents own a second house, three doors down from where they live. They rent out this second house, and make money. Hurrah! Well, for the last four years, a guy and his two (or was it 3? I can never remember) sons and their dog have lived there. (It just so happens that the youngest son used to bully me at school, but that’s neither here nor there…)
But, coming to the end of their tenancy this time around, they’ve decided they need to move on. Fair enough, says my mum, your contract ends on the 18th of September, so please have the place cleared up by then.
Mum puts out adverts for new tenants, and has an offer in no time. She agrees that they can move in on the 1st of October, which gives her two weeks to make sure the house is ready for a new family to move in. Hopefully, the last set of tenants are so eager to get their deposit back, they’ll have scrubbed the house top to bottom and fixed anything that they’ve managed to break.
But no. They weren’t even completely moved out by the 18th. I arrived at my mum’s on the 18th, and bright and early on the Sunday (19th) we expected to start on an empty, mostly clean house. NO, NO, NO. There were a dozen dead footballs in the garden, their old barbecue on the decking, two bikes leant against the house, and coathangers EVERYWHERE for some reason.
But Stuff is easy enough to toss in a skip. Less easy: mouldy wallpaper, mouldy curtains, broken window and dog hair, dust and spiders.
For me, the worst was the mould. It’s almost as if they didn’t open the windows for four years. All of the windows had some mould on them (although luckily the frames are plastic, not wood, so it should come of with no lasting damage), some of the curtains need completely replacing, and worst of all: my mum has to repaper half of a bedroom because it was so mouldy. I helped her strip the old, mouldy paper back:
We spent the whole day cleaning (9-6:30) but only scratched the surface. I hoovered my own weight in dog hair, and many a spider met a grim end.
Seriously though – how do people live like this? Why didn’t they see the mould and go “huh, probably should do something about that..”? And the guy came round halfway through the day to pick up some of his stuff (my mum foisted their rusty old barbecue and mangled footballs on him) – he had the utter CHEEK to ask how soon he could get his deposit back!! My mum simply shrugged him off by saying she was a bit busy at the moment. I am trying to encourage her to make an itemised bill detailing all of the ruined stuff that needs replacing, and explaining THAT’S why he doesn’t get his deposit back.
I’ll be back there next week to clean up some more of the mess.
